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I’m on holiday at the moment so have not been able to follow the release of the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes but have done a search of the impact of the proposed cuts on people with disabilities.
A quick comment…
Cuts to 2000 Special Needs Assistants means that many children with disabilities will either stay outside of mainstream education and return to segregated schools – which are very few in number (and remember that segregated classes in mainstream schools were scrapped in the last budget).
You could almost feel the glee with which reference was made to the postponement in the roll out of the Disability Act and needs assessment of people with disabilities and how costs could be made by rediverting resources elsewhere.
Cutting social welfare allowances was to be expected and we could see people with disabilities disappear even further from the workforce including community employment schemes as the report recommends that people with disabilities and others are not able to keep part of their social welfare allowances when taking jobs. There is a cost to disability that is not included in social welfare or salaries, there is also the fact that many disabled people cannot work full time – that is all topped by not being able to get work in the first place due to discrimination. Those are the reasons additional allowances and retention of some social welfare allowances was developed. But we cant afford disabled people in this society according to An Bord Snip.
The current review of services provided to people with disabilities by the voluntary sector is already underway and if the same mindset is in place then the rights of people with disabilities will not be to the fore in the examination. It would be great if this review actually asked people with disabilities what they felt about the quality of the service they received and whether they were actually doing what they wanted to do rather than endless pottery and yoga and personal development courses, travelling in minibuses marked out as ambulances donated by local businesses and labelling us as other.
Finally I note that the report recommends that the disability ‘bits’ of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform are moved to the Department of Health and Children. The medical model returns and Dermot Ahern would only be delighted to be getting rid of anything to do with human rights in his Department.
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Hi,
I fully support everything you say. It appears that, once again,disabled people are to be at the very end of those who msy need assistance. 13 Years after the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, the small gains that were made following that are seen as poor economics and are ‘properly’ put into their place in the HEALTH Sphere and we will be very much at the end of the long queue that are already fighting for the reducing funds available.
I find it very strange that there has been a total silence from disability groups, covering all impairments, and I wonder are they all covering themselves by saying nothing, perhaps we might get some crumbs off the table.
Where is the country that got a UN award for doing something for disabled people?
A vey frustrated disabled person.
Clare, Many thanks for you point – sorry I’ve not responded to your email by the way – I will next week when I am back from holidays! MP
Irate about this new politics of fear doesn’t begin to capture my anger. (Who was it again who campaigned years back on ‘health cuts hurt the old, sick and handicapped’?)
In this unimaginative policy, we see ‘easy targets’ being picked out for ‘treatment’ and I’m appalled that disabled people are within this ambit.
While most people are still trying to distill this report, I’m particularly alarmed by the number of commentators (esp TV3 today) who were comparing UK and Irish dole rates and applauding the need to deal with spongers, just fascists who know nothing about poverty. They are typically people who have never been on the dole, disability benefit, etc. I thought the media weren’t challenging these view on the TV programme I saw this morning, rather the journos were pandering to populist views on this. Last night on Vincent Browne, Kathleen Lynch was rightly scathing on what she termed an economists’ report that didn’t have any social conscience.
If there was more creative thinking, I think we could do better. If we’re a consumer society, there are consumption taxes to think about before we go cutting the welfare budget…
So how about a 2c tax per minute per mobile phone call/ text… reckon that would raise millions. A turnover tax on sharedealing would raise quite a bit. Also, various taxes could be used as revenue-making initiatives. €0.50 on a coffee/ tea in a cafe, double the bag levy in shops; put a €5 tax into any nightclub, music venue, theatre, late nite pub, etc. A church tax, like in Germany… it’s also consumption!
Dear all
For once, am hugely impressed by what the ‘Powers that be’ say (= Bord Snip -)…I have fought for equality for years; and always found disability a huge set back. But, delighted that Snip has seen – rightly so – that disability is not sacred. Not at all. Quite the opposite.
[edited for legal reasons]
Please let Snip tackle the empire Rehab. Rotten. Yeah
F
Maman Poulet » Cowen’s problem with Dermot Ahern? // Aug 2, 2009 at 23:50
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As the mother of a disabled adult and owning a business related to disability I am constantly surprised how unsupportive the disability support groups are. My impression has been, that very frequently those support groups support themselves and not their clients. I would hope that the McCarthy report would advocate accountability of monies spent in the disability sector rather than its removal due to general apathy. We should be aiming to retain “services” (the all encompassing ECDL classes) budgets should be accountable and Client reviews should be represented in deciding the success of groups.