Madam, – Special Needs Parents have seen a reversal of Government strategy over the past 18 months. As part of the Government’s “cost cutting” we have seen drastic cuts of services to people with disabilities.
Unfortunately, people with disabilities do not have recourse to negotiations such as the National Pay Agreement, the Croke Park agreement or large representation. They have no choice but to accept the reductions in facilities and services without negotiation. Why would they have such access, they are voiceless and after all, the 26,000 children with a disability do not have a vote.
As the Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has stated, the various Government departments, especially the HSE, fail to look at the public interest and are more interested in self-interest.
Perhaps the time is right for the Minister for Disabilities to be given overall charge of the budgets for services for people with disabilities? Remove the control of the Department of Education & Skills and the NCSE (National Council for Special Education), the Department of Heath, the HSE and give the Minister for Disabilities some real control, power and a budget.
Those providing services and facilities would be accountable to one Government department, preventing the continued mismanagement and squandering of finances. The current situation will only continue to slide back to the dark days when people with a disability were locked away from society and not allowed their right to an equal and inclusive role in Irish society. – Yours, etc,