The campaign is calling for the suspension of Anglo/INBS repayments as a first step towards renegotiation and writedown of the debt. The bulk of the re-payments are government issued “promissory notes” – a promise to pay money in future. Debt write downs happen all the time. A pause while we get a write down and stop rolling over and paying debts that are not ‘ours’ would be in line with the policy of both parties in government before the last election. Not that they seem to remember that. It is high time that they were reminded.

In his statement the Taoiseach announced that Ireland would be seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council.

Both within our own country, and in the wider world, Ireland is at the fore of those promoting peace, justice, security and development. This is a commitment and an engagement that we take with the utmost seriousness that this why, this year, for the first time, Ireland is seeking election to the United Nations Human Rights Council. If elected, Ireland would support clear and strong action by the Council in addressing human rights violations and in promoting universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Human Rights Council

is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe.  The Council was created by the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.

I assume before Ireland applies for election that

• the Mental Capacity Bill will be debated and enacted?
• The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities will be ratified by the government.
• Residential facilities for people with disabilities will be monitored and inspected.
• All prisoners will have in cell sanitation.
• Prisoners with mental health problems will be provided with appropriate treatment and facilities.
• The Government will truly strengthen and maintain the independence of the Equality and Human Rights infrastructure in the state.
• The Magdelene women will be cared for and apologised to.
• Travellers will be recognised as an ethnic minority.

Insert other areas where Ireland’s human rights record is poor and we fail to meet international conventions

Put simply we should attend to everything else which should be required of us  before applying to join such an elite.  The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights assessed our record with regard to treaties and conventions last year and it and the Universal Periodic Review (draft report) show the concerns of the United Nations in many areas of human rights and legal protections.

Indeed the human rights record of many of the other members of the Human Rights Council is also far from perfect.  But is it too much to hope that we could lead by example and prioritise attending to our human rights obligations?  This could then be seen as ‘clear and strong’ action by the Government in ‘addressing human rights violations and in promoting universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.’

See what I did there?  Austerity can not be an excuse for such diplomatic hypocrisy either.

Happy New Year.

The respondent submitted that it had discharged its obligations to the complainant with respect to Section 4 by providing assistance to the complainant to get on and off the bus. Having heard the evidence of the parties in this respect, and, in particular, having considered the complainant’s description of the difficulties he experienced with this form of assistance, I am satisfied that it was unduly difficult for him to avail of the service in question. Furthermore, in considering the question of reasonable accommodation, the Acts require that the respondent does all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of the complainant. In particular, it must at least consult with the person requesting the reasonable accommodation with a view to establishing fully the factual position in relation to that person’s requirements.

Mr. Doherty won his case as the Equality Officer ruled that Bus Eireann did not do everything it could and did not consult with him regarding his needs and how they could be met.

One day it will be agreed that being carried up or down the steps by the driver is not reasonable accommodation, or that you can turn up for a journey without having to decide 24 hours in advance that you want to go somewhere, or that you can expect the steps or lift on a bus to be in working order on all routes.  Indeed the headquarters of said company should be adapted without it being seen as above a nominal cost.  (yes they went there)  The respondent demonstrated that another company operating on the route were able to meet his needs.

This decision goes part of the way to establishing the rights of people with disabilities when using public transport.  There is still a very long way to go.   Congratulations to Karol for taking the case, hopefully more people with disabilities will be encouraged to take cases when they are refused the right to use a service and won’t take the excuses or the carrying anymore.

It may well be a permanent pause.

However in case it isn’t and because there is so much reform needed in this area and because we have learnt that so many TD’s are so interested in the area of Disability (thank you) lets start a real discussion on this area.  A few thoughts to start it off.

Disability services are in crisis, (4.7% cut to services being enforced by the HSE)  families are struggling and the rights of people with disabilities have been poorly serviced for years. The way in which that funding is spent is currently under review by the government and it is vital that this review is on how the policy of addressing individual needs and budgets for support will be organised rather than cutting it for the sake of saving money.

Disability Allowance or more exactly the cutting of it was the last straw when one can’t get essential supports and have to provide for them elsewhere.  Everyone being targeted irregardless of their level of disability was a major mistake.  But the real last straw is the lack of status of disability in society.  Remember we were promised assessment of need, rights based legislation and moves into the community for those in residential care and mental health services.

Promised years ago, in fact this conversation started in 1996 with the publication of the Report on the Commission on the Status of People of Disabilities.  This report and commission was a substantial analysis of the needs and response required to people with disabilities. The progress since has been limited to Education (substantial progress I will admit) and moves for some people into the community and fairly accessible transport but not very accessible buildings. There has been an improvement in health care .  As a result of main streaming and community involvement people know disabled people now and want us to have lives of our own.

People with disabilities and life limiting conditions are also living longer!  This is a good thing.  The limited progress to date and a shift in attitude and being more public means we and our families and friends have increased expectations of equality – imagine that!  To the shame of the nation (presumably) there are many people still in very poor residential services (or have no service at all) denied rights to an identity, comfort, decision making, quality of life and the right to spend what money they have.

This expectation of independence and rights and dignity has not gone away despite the lack of implementation of the Disability Act 2005 and failure to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.  The government and their back benchers have learnt this week that we have expectations of decency despite  having been put to the back of the queue and patted on the head from time to time.

Mainstreaming does not cure disability.  Getting educational qualifications does not always mean that someone may be able to work.  At the moment some people assessing us in the social welfare system think that the fact people have been to school or college or have been supported to get a qualification are able or capable of work.

The issue of young people with disabilities on the Autistic Spectrum and developmental and mental health issues must be addressed.  The failure rates for applications for Disability Allowance and Domiciliary Care Allowance is truly staggering (of which many are granted on appeal) and the process so distressing for families who are in crisis.

We need recognition of the impact of autism and other disabilities on the ability of people to work, to participate in society, on the ability of families to cope and the costs of additional supports which may include diets, counselling, Occupational Therapy,  respite, speech therapy, transport, technology and in some cases repairing broken furniture, windows and homes which result from the distress.   To date I think that the state response to autism in Irish society has focussed on education – there is so much more on this matter alone which requires debate and response in addition to other disabilities and the supports required.

If new payment types are needed or new forms of support required then let them be discussed.  New ways of assessing and understanding the issues involved are certainly needed.   The Cost of Disability has to be addressed so those who can work are not disadvantaged for doing so and their extra expenses if any are met – this will in fact lead to a saving if there are jobs to fill but more importantly will contribute to establishing our human rights!

We must look at the supports that are there for employment of people with disabilities and if the money being spent is actually working in the right way.  Since the winding up of the National Rehabilitation Board the responsibility was passed to FAS, most of this was then outsourced to supported employment services.  I assume that this arrangement will be reviewed to see if it is fit for purpose.  Also people with disabilities should be able to access all employment supports and not just disability specific programmes.

Finally in the debate and action on disability required in Irish society it is vital that we start from the premise that  we are not products to be readied for the market – some of us can and desperately want to work  if properly supported.  Many many others will never be able to work and must be respected for our contributions and right to participate, live and enjoy our lives.

I could continue with this for some time.  The point that must not be lost to those who decide is that a review of the way young people with disabilities who cannot work  are supported by social welfare is only a part of the disability picture which our political system must no longer ignore or pay lip service to.

The picture extends over many government departments and other structures in Irish society  It is a very big picture and must be fully viewed and no longer hidden and people with disabilities must be holding the paintbrush in the painting of our futures.

These deductions can be made by the defence strategy by Government parties of the cut to disability allowance announced yesterday.

If your disability meant that your family qualified for domiciliary care allowance when you were a child (ie it was a ‘severe disability’ and you needed constant care and attention) this disability will now disappear on your 18th birthday or half of it will until the age of 24.  Congratulations!  Well that’s what the government are implying whilst also not paying attention to the many other problems with disability policy in the land.

We are not talking ‘bad backitis’ here – these are generally people born with disabilities who are going to be affected including many people with autism and profound disabilities.  Not all people with disabilities need disability allowance but not all people with disabilities are shirking and avoiding employment either.

Lets follow the argument and really noble cause (if genuinely and properly resourced) of supporting people with disabilities into the workplace.  If you are able to work and happen to get a job, the costs of your disability, be they medical, transport, diet, heating, clothing, laundry are not taken into account and won’t be either by this cut.   You will continue to be taxed by default for your disability as in previous administrations.  You would lose your travel pass, more likely than not your medical card and aids and appliances. If it was costing you to be disabled and you earned the same salary as an able bodied person and you get no financial support or tax allowance for your disability and no cover in case anything went wrong why would you apply for a job which might lose you all those benefits?  Farcically your employer might get paid to hire you because you were less able but you would get no extra money to compensate for the cost of your disability.

If you use catheters or require bowel care support more often than not you can’t work because you need to use the services of nurses and others to attend to personal care and those services don’t work around people with jobs.  Also you are more at risk of infections and ill health and there is only so much of that an employer will endure.  You might have a PA service and that service may be cut and won’t help you get to work but only to get up in the morning and go to bed at night.   Employment and education are not seen as essential parts of personal assistance and home help needs assessment.  Making sure you don’t die in your bed and get a shower are now seen as essential.  If you are a young person with a disability who might be able to work you won’t get PA support because your mother/sister/any other adult is seen as your carer (if not decision maker) whether you want them to be or not.

If you had a PA in school or college you will lose that when you finish training/education and if you need a PA to work there is no continuity so some people can’t work.   Supports are not individualised.

If you wanted to work in the public service, you might have been able to get a job in previous years and had supports in place like flexible working, aids and appliances and a 3% quota.   The embargo has shut all those possibilities.

There are no extra training places for people with disabilities in the budget by the way so they will be competing with able bodied people for places in training.  Those who cannot work or attend training for employment, like ever, (and they exist and can rarely speak up for themselves) are being treated the same way as those who may be able to work with appropriate supports.  Everyone is being failed by this and miracle cures of disability abound.   (PS. There is a 20% cut in the resources for students with disabilities at third level in the Education estimates)

People with disabilities have been failed by the lack of needs analysis before and during the boom, now we are bust we are failed again.

Policy changes and real reform might see the needs of disabled people actually met.  But that would require some level of thought.  And a commitment to equality and respect.  We are not allowed have any of that.  Only miracle cures by policy makers who have no experience of disability who are advised by people who use medical models to diagnose and cure the disabled and not the society that we live in.  It would not actually cost more money in the long run, like moving people into the community has been proved to be cost effective,  supporting people with disabilities in terms of income support might actually reduce the overall bill and give people a life.

With this move people with disabilities may also be seen as a further burden on their families and more open to abuse and neglect and when they don’t get jobs or can’t get jobs will be singled out further for being seen as other and won’t be able to afford to participate in society and will be hidden all over again.

There is a better way.  A much better way of both saving money and supporting the participation in society of those with severe disabilities and protecting them.  However austerity means cut first and don’t look later. One size (cut) can’t fit all.

All the scenarios illustrated above from my own and others personal experiences.  (There is sarcasm in there too but the issues are all real).

We don’t have a strategy for people with disabilities, and no movement independent of service providers, funders or other vested interests (including our families) to  call out the inequalities.  Easy prey.

The book initially examines the impact of the Celtic Tiger both it’s development and operation on all parts of Irish society.  The authors look at the cyclical nature of boom and bust and its impact on the lives of people socially and economically.  In terms of equality and societal impact of the economic system the book questions the nature of the Irish state and the values if any that have been attached to statehood. They show who won and who lost in the first republic and it’s latest collapse.  There are frequent illustrations of who never won anything at all including people with disabilities, those living in areas of socio-economic discrimination and women.  Power was ceded to markets, new elites were created and centralised.

There are examination on recent debates on political reform and whether anything will come from them and what is is needed for real reform in Ireland which might lead us towards a second republic. (Political reform cannot happen in isolation to economic or social reforms and this has been a noticeable deficit in the discussions to date which many political scientists have engaged in or led. )  The programme for government is examined for any possibilities for more equal participation and benefits for those who have been excluded.

There is reflection on the role of civil society, left wing and progressive movements and political parties and they argue that the biggest challenge lies with the civil society movement rather than political parties.  A movement which as I’ve commented on before is riven with splits, financial controls of funders and failure to develop key messages.  The added impact of professionalisation and exclusion of those who are claimed to be represented is also critical in the challenges to be faced by this sector.

Many of the texts written to date on why we are in the state we are in do not look at the impact of the collapse on people or examine the structures created to manage people.  Mainly it has been reflection on what happened to buildings and those who built them and those that funded them.  This text remedies this hugely and will be essential reading not only for formal students of Irish Studies and the social sciences but also those interested in making a change and being part of the change in the nature of the discussions on austerity and the type of society we wish to live in.

I have a copy of the book which I would like to give to a blog reader.  If you are interested in winning it why not leave a comment with your email (which is hidden) and I will do a draw on December 5th.

Towards a Second Republic is published by Pluto Press.

There will be further book reviews and give-aways in the coming weeks. If you are an author or publisher and have a book that you think would be of interest to me or my readers please don’t hesitate to email me at tips (AT) mamanpoulet.com

Those taking part in the video were all born outside Ireland and have made Ireland their home.  One might wonder why when you listen to some of their experiences of living here.  It is a very positive video also with people talking about living the new Ireland rather the usual nods to it. The participants all have ideas and vision for the Ireland they live in and it’s powerful to hear them speak.

Making Ireland Home from Laura on Vimeo.

- The 300 richest people in Ireland are worth close to €50bn.

- Excluding housing values the top 1% control 34% of Ireland’s wealth.

- The government plans to cut expenditure, services and infrastructure twice as much as they plan to raise in taxes in Budget 2012.  The services that they will cut are more likely to be used by the 99% and thus cuts in those services will affect those on low incomes far more disproportionally.

- Over €8 million paid to 109 former government ministers in the form of ministerial/TD pensions. 30 of whom earn over €100,000 in pensions alone.

The campaign launched this week is not about increasing income tax and charges for those on low incomes but about taxing wealth and creating growth.  Something which successive governments have failed to do and the richest in Ireland have constantly found ways of avoiding taxes or have benefited from tax avoidance schemes.

Since activation is the topic de jour how about we activate some of the richest people in this still very wealthy country to step up to the plate and pay their fair dues?

This solidarity (because their country needs them!) could look like

1. A levy on assets and property worth over €1 million
2. High net worth Irish citizens paying their dues here so that the number of tax exiles decreases
3.  Eliminating tax breaks for those with high incomes so that they pay their fair share
4. A levy on financial transactions over significant amounts (Tobin Tax)
5. A higher tax rate on incomes over €100k

Claiming Our Future are calling on a change in the choices that are being made and the impacts of those choices.  Austerity harms our chances of recovery far more than taxing wealth ever will.

More on this campaign and how you can take action is available on the Claiming Our Future website. There is a lot more you can do other than signing a petition.  Start talking to friends, family and your public representatives about the values you want in society, the fairer, more equitable sharing of the load and the fact that cuts to services and incomes of the less well paid effect our economy badly as more people have less money to spend.

There is an alternative.

The study was commissioned by GLEN, funded by Age and Opportunity through the Get Vocal programme and the Health Service Executive, and conducted by a team of researchers from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin.

The findings cover both the coming out and ageing experiences of older LGBT’s and makes proposals on how services should be delivered and policies developed so that growing older in Ireland is a positive experience.

I did postgraduate study on this area (my unfinished PhD) and from my first reading the Visible Lives study makes for remarkable and important reading on the experience of older LGBT people in experiencing health services, preparation for ageing, coming out and forming relationships and friendships and social supports as one grows older. There is a sense of pride and resilience amongst participants as the first cohort of out older LGBT people in Ireland whilst identifying the discrimination facing all older people and the added issues which face older LGBT people.

“We are the generation who are giving meaning to being ‘older LGBTs’, so there is challenge, adventure, a degree of excitement and surprise – and tremendous freedom!” Survey Participant

The current economic crisis is worrying many participants as it is many people growing older and worrying about pensions and contemplating working longer as they cannot afford to retire.

I do [have worries] but it’s nothing to do with being gay. It’s to do with the fact of the economic situation and pension-wise and I’m on a three day week, which is why I’m here now. Those are the worries I have but those are the worries of many people I’m sure now. (17 GM 61)

I think the other [worry] would be the financial bit. There is a security in knowing that you could afford a nursing home; there is no security if you’re depending on the State. (19 LF 58)

I spent most of my life working in [names country] without building up [an] adequate pension. Nearly all my friends live abroad and I am concerned that my financial situation will prevent me from seeing them again. (Survey participant)

Main Findings

- Most older people surveyed went through the whole of their adolescence and their early adulthood without disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity to anyone and without any contact with other LGBT people.
- Over a third (35%) still feel that friends will reject them if they tell them they about their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Over a quarter (28%) are not ‘out’ to any of their neighbours.
- One in ten are not ‘out’ to any of their close family.
- More than a quarter (26%) are not ‘out’ to any of their healthcare providers because of fear of negative reaction.

The recommendations of the report include
– creating a dedicated role to progress the implementation of the recommendations of the Visible Lives report;
– engaging with policy makers to ensure that the National Positive Ageing Strategy and other relevant policies and strategies are inclusive of the needs and circumstances of older LGBT people;
- supporting capacity building work in the older people’s sector and mobilisation of this sector to respond to the needs of older LGBT people;
- engaging with the HSE and HIQA to establish standards for the care of older LGBT people and ensure that nursing homes and residential care services communicate a positive message of inclusiveness and respect for older LGBT people;
- engaging with health and social care services to ensure that policies and practice are responsive to the needs of older LGBT people and are embracing the principles of equality, inclusion and respect for diversity.

The summary and the full report are online. The launch is being broadcast live also.