July 2010

 

Minister called to intervene in disability cuts crisis

• people with disabilities and their families caught in the middle

 Inclusion Ireland calls on the Minister for Health Mary Harney and the Minister for Disability John Moloney, to intervene in the current dispute over cuts to disability services and ensure both the HSE and disability service providers come together to find a solution without delay. 

Inclusion Ireland CEO Deirdre Carroll says:

“It is unacceptable to Inclusion Ireland that people with disabilities and their families should hear over the airwaves that their respite and home support services will be cut and people who are living in ordinary houses in the community will probably have to move back into institutions.

“Inclusion Ireland has received calls from parents and people with disabilities who are extremely upset and worried about their future. Institutional care for people with disabilities in this country has proven to be neither a cheap nor a quality option.

“According to a paper given at the 2009 National Disability Authority annual conference, community living ‘is no more expensive than institutional care’, but ‘community living offers the prospect of an improved lifestyle and quality of life over institutional care for people with intellectual disabilities’. 

“What is needed is a real debate on how disability services are provided in this country, and the way we use our collective resources effectively in difficult economic times. People with disabilities and their families need to have access to quality services, be adequately consulted, and have choice and control over what services they receive.” 

NATIONAL PROTEST MARCH:    

People with a disability and their families will meet at the Garden of Remembrance at 12pm on Wednesday 7th July, marching down O’Connell Street, before assembling in Molesworth Street, outside Leinster House, under the banner ‘People with Disabilities Say No More Cuts!’. Concurrent marches are being planned in Galway and Castlebar. These marches will begin at the same time as the Dublin march. For further information contact Siobhán Kane, details as below.

 

ENDS

 

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