EVEN DURING good times the needs of children with intellectual disabilities were neglected. But the extent to which hundreds of disabled young people and their families stand to suffer as a result of fresh spending cuts is particularly galling. Many school-leavers with disabilities who require essential services are now being turned down for support once they finish their education next month. As a result, many parents fear they will have nowhere to send their children, many of whom require ongoing services such as occupational therapy, speech and language support or physiotherapy.
Until now, most young people with intellectual disabilities have progressed on to supported employment, training or day services run by voluntary agencies when they finished school. Last year, for example, the Health Service Executive was given about €10 million to provide hundreds of places for school-leavers and young people in emergency situations. This year, however, no such money is available.
Voluntary service providers have been told to find these resources within existing budgets. However, many of these service providers say they are already cut to the bone. Many are struggling to maintain existing services, despite funding cuts totalling at least 14 per cent over the past four years. Support groups say it is inevitable that reduced spending will lead to substantial reductions in day and respite services, which will affect the basic quality of life for people with disabilities and their families.
Traditionally, there has been a lack of proper oversight of the way voluntary service providers spend State funding. There is bound to be room for greater efficiencies on their part. But the Government and health authorities must bear responsibility for allowing this situation to escalate into a crisis. We need much better planning and greater certainty over funding to ensure this is not repeated in future years.
The disability sector has always struggled for resources. Perhaps conscious of this, the programme for government stated that the Coalition partners were committed to “protecting the vulnerable and to burden-sharing on an equitable basis”. On the basis of this current debacle, the gap between reality and rhetoric is glaring. It is unconscionable that our most vulnerable citizens, along with their hard-pressed families, should face such uncertainty. If there is a single group in society which is innocent of any role in the current economic turmoil, it is people with intellectual disabilities.
As of now, health authorities say they are in close talks with voluntary services to try to determine the needs of individual school-leavers and match them with whatever services are available. Once again, innocent children are caught up in the middle of a dispute over resources. We cannot simply allow parents and their special needs children to be cut adrift. The Government, health authorities and service providers must do everything in their power to ensure every citizen gets a service that meets their needs. The longer talks continue, the more children stand to suffer. Time is running out.