People with Disabilities in Ireland
4th Floor Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
Telephone: 01 87 21 74 4
Fax: 01 87 21 77 1
Email: info@pwdi.ie
PwDI (People with Disabilities in Ireland) was established in 2000 as an organisation to represent and look after the interests of people with disabilities. It is the only national cross disability organisation funded by Government, or more specifically the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform. Its aim is to help all people with disabilities to participate in and influence the decision making process that impacts on their lives and the opportunities open to them.
PwDI is an umbrella organisation that brings together people with some form of disability at national and local level to work on common issues that affect all those with disability. Its strength lies in its membership and the local networks spread throughout the country.
Cross disability is a generic term that describes a broad range of disabilities, including those that are physical, emotional, intellectual and mental. It is estimated that there are almost 400,000 people with such disabilities in Ireland, equivalent to almost 10 per cent of the total population. As such it is a very important and potentially influential segment of the Irish population, but one that is rarely afforded the dignity, rights and respect that it deserves. PwDI aims to allow this important group realise its potential and maximise its influence at local and national level.
Dignity, equality and basic human rights for people with some form of disability are central to the agenda of PwDI. Consequently we believe that Government policy should help those with disability realise these objectives. The particular needs of those with some form of disability need to be acknowledged and satisfied if Ireland is to have a truly inclusive and civilised society. With the Irish economic background improving and the Exchequer finances moving back to a healthier situation, we believe that Budget 2005 will present a major opportunity for Government to address in a meaningful way this very worthwhile and deserving agenda. The budget needs to back up and strengthen the recently published disability bill.
The slowdown experienced in the Irish economy in the 2001-2003 period was primarily due to the US recession and the consequent global economic slowdown. The international economic cycle has been enjoying a solid recovery over the past year, and 2004 will see the global economy growing at the fastest pace since 2000. Current evidence suggests that this momentum will carry over to 2005.
The international economic recovery has benefited the Irish economy. In the first half of 2004 Irish GDP has expanded by 5.1 per cent and GNP by 4.7 per cent. While the weak base in the early months of 2003 is exaggerating the domestic upturn to some extent, it is clear that the Irish economy is again looking quite healthy and is well on the way to delivering GDP growth of close to 5 per cent this year and GNP growth of more than 4 per cent.
Business confidence is recovering strongly and employment creation has picked up substantially in recent months. Consumer spending is still relatively cautious, growing at an annual rate of just 2.2%. SSIA payments and the high cost of living are undermining consumer-spending power, but a gradual pick up is expected over the coming year on the back of a stronger labour market and a pick up in earnings growth. The export performance is benefiting from the much more buoyant external environment, which is offsetting the loss of cost competitiveness and the euro has become more stable against the dollar.
On the back of the recovery in the economy the public finances have improved substantially. The Exchequer returns for the first nine months of the year show that the Exchequer recorded a deficit of €418 million, which compares to a deficit of €1,034 million in the same period last year. A deficit of €2.8 billion was originally budgeted for the year as a whole. Spending remains under firm control, tax revenues have been boosted by the once-off success in collecting unpaid taxes, but the stronger than expected level of economic activity is giving a good boost to most categories of tax revenues. The assumptions underlying Budget 2004 and the revisions made in the Department of Finance’s Economic Review & Outlook in August are still proving way too conservative and at this stage it appears that the EBR could come in under €1 billion, more than €1.8 billion lower than the original target set last December.
Budget 2005 is being prepared against the most favourable economic and fiscal background since 2001. Consequently, there should be sufficient scope to address a broad policy agenda, particularly those areas of social policy that received less attention than they warranted over the past three budgets.
The overall economic policy objective of the budget should be focused on:
• Maintaining economic stability
• Maximising employment creation, and
• Improving the competitiveness of the economy.
To achieve these economic policy objectives it would be desirable to have minimal changes to indirect taxes, which would help keep inflation in check, and full indexation of tax bands and allowances would offer much needed assistance to low and middle income workers.
On the broad social policy front, the Budget should seek to improve essential public services and target the disadvantaged in society. This segment of society has in many ways been neglected in recent years and it is now time to address their specific needs and issues in a meaningful way.
In relation to people with disabilities, we believe that a group in society that accounts for around 10 per cent of the total population deserves and should be given very careful consideration and the maximum assistance possible. This significant segment of the population has not fared particularly well in the economic and fiscal climate that has prevailed over the past three years and it is now time to address the various concerns of this increasingly politically influential sector in a meaningful way. Obviously, all of the needs of this sector cannot be accommodated in a single budget, but Budget 2005 should form a key part of a longer-term strategy for the disability sector.
The recent publication of The Disability Bill is a central plank of the National Disability Strategy and its publication is very welcome after years of obfuscation and delay. We welcome the broad thrust of the Bill, but there are shortcomings. The key one is financial and we believe that it is totally unacceptable that the entire disability strategy is contingent on sufficient financial resources being available. People with disabilities cannot and should not become dependent on the vagaries of the economic and fiscal cycle. Financial resources to help those with disabilities cannot be viewed as discretionary spending in the same manner as grants to sporting organisations or other such bodies. Those with disabilities deserve better than that.
The five-year multi-annual funding plan is very vague and no indication has yet been given as to how much money is involved. Budget 2005 and the estimates process should outline clearly how much money will be allocated to the sector, but more crucially the amount allocated will at a minimum, need to be of sufficient magnitude to eradicate waiting lists for residential care, day care, respite places and inappropriate placements. Increased investment in income supports and community services for people with disabilities will be an essential ingredient in achieving the full implementation of the disability legislation and a rights based approach to disability.
In a situation where an identified need cannot be met for reasons of practicability, such as a lack of resources, it is essential that provision of the identified need be made the following year or when it becomes practicable. Failure to meet an identified need must not be used as an excuse to forgot about the provision of that need indefinitely.
Sectoral plans have been announced for six relevant Government departments, but the omission of the Department of Education is in our view a serious omission that should be rectified immediately. The Department of Education has a crucial role to play in the delivery of services to the disability sector as education and training has a key role to play in improving the quality of life of those with disability.
The Disability Bill imposes on the Minister an obligation to allocate sufficient funding and make adequate provision to provide required services. In relation to the Sectoral Plans it is essential that the Minister would make adequate provision to ensure that the objectives of the plans are achievable.
At the moment almost every Government department has some part to play in the funding of disability services and supports. It is currently done in a very uncoordinated manner and data on this spending is not collated in a systematic way. We believe that this results in gross inefficiency and value for money is not attained from the resources that are spent. Money is not being applied for best benefits. This process is not helped by the fact that there is a lack of social statistics relating to disability. We believe that existing resources would be utilised in a more effective manner if one Minister of State were given full responsibility for coordination in this sector, including the disbursement of all funds. This is particularly relevant in the context of a budget that should exceed €15 billion over the next five years. Such a spending budget would warrant a dedicated Minister for State to ensure that the money is utilized in a productive and efficient way. This would be of no extra cost to the Exchequer and would result in better value for money. Furthermore, we would suggest that this Minister of State attend Cabinet meetings for briefings on disability legislation and related issues when necessary.
Improvements in the quality of life for those with disabilities are seriously hampered by the lack of qualified professionals in areas such as Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy. There is a serious scarcity of such professionals, not least due to the fact that access to these professions is seriously restricted. We suggest that restrictions to entry should be dismantled and encouragement given to enter these professions. Such encouragement should include financial incentives in return for an obligation to devote the first two years after qualification to the public service.
It is a statistical fact that there is a very high correlation between disability and poverty. A recent report from the Department of Community & Social Affairs showed that 66.5 per cent of people with a disability fall below the 60 per cent level of median income, and 22.5 per cent suffer basic deprivation. This is due to a combination of limited income potential for those with disabilities and the fact that the cost of living for those with a disability is generally significantly higher than for the rest of the community. In the UK it is estimated that the annual cost of raising a child with disability is three times greater than for a child without a disability. The costs of disability include medical expenses, mobility and communications, transport, disability aids, home adoption costs, carers’ loss of income, heating and many other items besides.
We believe that the Government should immediately introduce a Cost of Disability Payment, set at a minimum level of €40 per week, means tested in a sensible way. This payment should be indexed on an annual basis at twice the annual rate of Consumer Price Inflation. Such indexation would be recognition of the higher inflation in areas that are particularly important for those with disabilities.
The National Disability Strategy makes no proper provision for Carers. The carer’s allowance is means tested for those aged 18 or over caring on a full time basis for someone who requires full time care and attention and will require it for at least 12 months. We believe that this allowance should not be means tested. Furthermore family members who act as carers are not entitled to a carer’s allowance, despite the opportunity cost involved for that family member and the extra cost to the Exchequer of having to provide a carer. Statistics from the CSO show that there are almost 150,000 people in Ireland providing unpaid help for a family member or friend with a disability or health problem. These unpaid carers are currently given little or no recognition by the state for the valuable task that they perform. The individualisation of the tax system attracted many female workers back into the labour force and seriously depleted the availability of carers. This places those with disability at a serious disadvantage and is symptomatic of the undervalued nature of the carer’s role. The status of paid and unpaid carers needs to be treated as a key priority.
The Community Employment Scheme has become a key source of support for those with disability. People with disability have entered the labour force through such schemes and the skills attained have in many cases facilitated a moved into the regular labour market. This transition is for many people with disabilities a huge and daunting step and so we welcome the joint ICTU/IBEC Workway scheme, which has facilitated this transition and has allowed people with disabilities display their talents and contribute positively to the economic life of Ireland. Arising from the Workway pilot study, the issue of the difficulty that those with disabilities have in overcoming the transition into full-time employment was highlighted very clearly. We recommend that specialised training should be given to facilitate this huge transition in order to satisfy the expectations and requirements of both employers and those moving into full-time employment.
While the need for community employment schemes has been reduced by the sharp fall in unemployment in recent years, it is still a very valuable source of employment, training and sense of self-respect for those in the disability sector. It has also facilitated carers.
We recommend that Community Employment schemes should remain a well- supported feature of the Irish work place, particularly as it relates to the disability sector. However, it is vital that the scheme is not abused and that it does not become a permanent source of employment for those who have the capability to move into the general labour force. This scheme needs to be monitored more carefully and managed at a strategic level.
The capital-spending programme in Ireland in 2004 was budgeted at €5.5 billion. We believe that the allocation to the disability sector needs to be increased in order to address areas where are serious shortcomings. These include:
• Housing Adaptation Grants
There is currently an unacceptable backlog of applications for Adaptation Grants and there are currently delays of up to two years for grants coming through. In the meantime, people with disabilities are being forced to take out loans to effect structural changes that are necessary to allow them live as normal a life as possible. This places a huge financial burden and strain on a sector that already has to endure considerable financial stress. Due to funding constraints, many local authorities have not been in a position to fulfil their obligations. This is totally unacceptable and needs to be addressed. Such grants allow many people with disabilities remain in their own homes and in their own communities. The longstanding review of the structures needs to be completed as a priority.
• Accessibility of Public Buildings
Priority needs to be given to ensuring that all public buildings are made accessible for those with disabilities. The building regulations relating to access for those with disabilities are clearly not monitored effectively by the authorities, and there would appear to be widespread flouting of the regulations. This cannot be allowed continue. The sectoral plan for the Department of the Environment needs to be beefed up in this regard.
• Provision of Alternative Facilities
Suitable facilities need to be provided for patients who are needlessly in psychiatric hospitals or ordinary hospitals. This would free up scare beds in general and psychiatric hospitals and would provide a much cheaper and effective alternative.
The criteria used for assessing eligibility for a medical card for those with disability are overly restrictive. The restrictive criteria act as a major disincentive for those who want to move from social welfare into paid employment. We believe that all those with disabilities should be automatically eligible for a medical card.
The key priority of Government in relation to the disability sector should be to allow all people with disabilities live with as much comfort and dignity as possible. In many cases this will require additional resources and in some cases it will require more efficient use of and monitoring of existing resources. There needs to be a more co-ordinated approach to spending in the area of disability to ensure that the taxpayer gets value for money and that those with disabilities are given the quality of life that they deserve.
The current health of the public finances and their likely evolution in 2005 will allow the new Minister for Finance address these objectives without the need for any increase in the real tax burden. Budget 2005 should be seen, as just the first step in a long-term strategy for those with disabilities and it should back up the objectives inherent in the overall disability strategy.
We are looking forward in the expectation that for the first time ever, adequate resources will be made available in the spending estimates.
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