Madam, – Thank you for highlighting the important issues surrounding the disgraceful position in which we find ourselves (Carl O’Brien, Invisible Lives, Features, February 2nd 3rd).
We cannot confirm that those of us who are born with different bodies or brains, or who have the misfortune of acquiring a brain injury later in life, are being supported in a safe, caring and nurturing environment, subject to minimum standards. Such failures are simply a question of money and we should be ashamed as a country.
In your Editorial (February 3rd) you highlighted the kernel of the problem: some service providers are good, some are not. But in the absence of choice, competition and regulation with inspection, nothing will change. As a nation we will continue to allow those who are differently-abled to be the beggars at the Government bowl, where “luck” is the only factor in determining their future life.
As a father of a teenager with intellectual disability I live in fear of what will happen to him. I ask your readers to consider those who have no parents or family, because the only advocates they have are those who decide to speak out. Please speak out.
Speak to Government and demand regulation, speak to the INTO the ASTI the INMO and any other union involved in upcoming work-to-rule action, and demand they exempt the services that support those with intellectual disability. Speak to those who work in such services and commend them for their role and assist them with their visions. Speak to people who have different brains and listen to what they ask.
But please speak out now, because some day you may not be able to.
Madam, – Your paper, through your Editorial and Carl O’Brien’s excellent Invisible Lives series (February 2nd and 3rd), highlights the manner in which some of the most vulnerable people in our country are treated.
Successive governments in times of plenty allowed this situation to continue. Minister of State for Disability John Moloney said a year ago funds were not available to implement change, therefore it requires cross-departmental support to ensure this appalling situation is not allowed to continue.
We have been involved in working with people who are homeless for 35 years and during that time, despite the so-called Celtic Tiger years, we have witnessed the results of the running down of services.
Discharging long-stay patients into the community has in the past been seen as a cheap option because many people were just discharged to hostels – alternative institutions, but cheaper to run at times. Other long-stay patients have been discharged to live in vulnerable communities without adequate support services and these must be put in place to ensure people can live with dignity, something we should all expect in the 21st century.
According to Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights everyone is entitled to dignity and respect, and it is shocking that the Irish State violates that principle in a systematic way everyday in its treatment of so many of our vulnerable fellow citizens. We have long campaigned for rights-based management approaches in all areas of the health, homeless and social services to ensure the person is put at the centre of the system. However, there can be no doubt that the lack of appropriate care in our services for the most vulnerable people is one of the most serious human rights concerns in Ireland today. It demands urgent action. – Yours, etc,