PAT RABBITTE TD, Leader;
Madam, - Even if 2003 was not designated European Year of People with Disabilities, and even if Ireland was not hosting the Special Olympics World Games in the summer, there would be every reason to protest loud and long and to resist and oppose this Government's decisions on public funding of services for people with a disability. This is the first budget in our political memory that, in respect of disability, has not made available one cent of additional spending for new services or to help services in difficulty including in the area of intellectual disability.
Those decisions, encapsulated in the 2003 Book of Estimates and Budget, to make no additional funding for the provision of new services, are truly shocking and a betrayal not only of more vulnerable citizens but also of Government promises to them.
The implications of this Government's decisions are most serious both in general and particularly in relation to funding for emergencies and training and day services for those with intellectual disability leaving school this year. In its pre-budget submission NAMHI sought a modest increase of about €20m for this year to deal with emergencies - not even seeking any real improvement in the situation. This was a very modest proposal and, as NAMHI pointed out in its pre-budget submission, "This is not just a funding issue but an issue of human rights as highlighted by Report on Ireland by the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights in May 2002."
The decisions of the Government are not simply shortsighted - they are inequitable in the extreme. They are particularly so given the scale of the current budget surplus last year (€5.4 billion) the forecast current surplus for this year (€3.7 billion) and the financial resources that are, in reality, available to this Government to deal with such pressing issues as the rights of the disabled and the needs of their parents and families.
Despite the Government's mishandling of public spending, Ireland remains a rich country and the exchequer remains hugely well endowed - as evidenced in the official figures for the current budget surplus, 2002-2005. We can afford a further significant improvement in the allocation for disability and significant progress in advancing the human rights of these citizens.
The Taoiseach was quite willing to avail of a photo opportunity in launching the European Year of People with Disabilities. Yet his Government makes no allocation for any new service developments in 2003, the expansion of respite services or for training/day services for those children with disability leaving school this year.
No doubt the Taoiseach's handlers will be looking for more photo opportunities for their leader, to capitalise on the huge community support there is for the Special Olympics; yet care staff in institutions will continue to be forced to straitjacket those in their care because of resource shortages.
This Government stands over the signing by the previous Minister for Education, Dr Michael Woods, on behalf of the State, of an indefensible, open-ended deed of indemnity to religious congregations. Yet it proposes to do nothing this year about the plight of some hundreds of people with disability who are inappropriately placed in long-term psychiatric hospitals.
In the Labour Party we will continue to campaign strongly for adequate resources to meet the needs of people with disabilities as both a priority and a right. It is a central part of our values that people with disabilities must be respected as full and equal citizens of Ireland, and that the barriers in the way of their participation in our community must be removed.
We will use Dáil time in the coming week to call on the Government to reverse its decisions and to make available to the relevant services the resources necessary to significantly improve services for the disabled - this year and in the coming years. - Yours, etc.,
PAT RABBITTE TD, Leader; LIZ McMANUS TD, Deputy Leader, Spokesperson on Health; BREEDA MOYNIHAN CRONIN TD, EMMET STAGG TD, TOMMY BROUGHAN TD, JOAN BURTON TD, JOE COSTELLO TD, EAMON GILMORE TD, MICHAEL D. HIGGINS TD, BRENDAN HOWLIN TD, KATHLEEN LYNCH TD, JAN O'SULLIVAN TD, BRIAN O'SHEA TD, SEAMUS PATTISON TD, WILLIE PENROSE TD, RUAIRI QUINN TD, SEAN RYAN TD, JOE SHERLOCK TD, ROISIN SHORTALL TD, MARY UPTON TD, JACK WALL TD, Labour Party, Ely Place, Dublin 2.