Jul 9, 2010
Funding Cuts to Disability Services
On Wednesday thousands of persons with disabilities, their friends, families, carers and other concerned persons marched in Dublin, Galway and Mayo in protest against further cuts to disability services. Last night representative bodies for organisations providing services to people with disabilities received assurances from the Government that there will be no further cuts in 2010 the Irish Times reports here. The protests highlight a justified lack of trust amongst the disability community who have been at the sharp end of cuts to funding. See Eilionóir Flynn’s blog on cuts to funding for disability in Budget 2010 here.
There were heated exchanges in the Dáil on Wednesday with the Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisting that no decisions have been taken in relation to cutting disability services. He insisted that only 130 of the 5,000 respite places available in the state were under review. While there were political assurances that “frontline” services would not be affected the Taoiseach did say that there would have to be changes to “non-frontline services”. The Irish Times coverage is available here.
According to Brian O’Donnell the Chief Executive of the Federation of Voluntary Bodies, they had agreed cuts of €58.9 million to salaries and non-salary items with the HSE for 2010. However, its members had actually experienced cuts of €74.5 million. The CEO of inclusion Ireland Deirdre Carroll said, “people with disabilities have been presented with cuts to essential services without prior consultation. The message went out loud and clear at the gates of Leinster House on 7th July that this is not acceptable.” See here.
The background to these protests is that there have been many cuts to disability services. For example, the Personal Advocacy Service as provided for in the Citizens Information Bill has been delayed indefinitely, as has the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004.
A lot of the frustration within the disability community, which was very evident this week, stems from the lack of consultation. Residential services and short-break services (respite) are essential services for persons with disabilities and their families and cut backs to these services have been felt hard over the past year. In particular, the cuts in this year’s budget to the disability allowance and carers allowance has real implications for living standards and quality of life (for commentary see here). It is hugely alarming for service users to learn about possible cuts to essential services through the media, though hardly surprising, as there is no culture of consultation with service users. Many persons living independently in the community fear that further cuts may result in being forced to move back into institutions.
People with disabilities should have access to services of a high quality and there should be adequate consultation with service users in the types of services they want. The voices of persons with disabilities should be heard and they should retain greater choice and management of services.
The Government in considering further cuts to disability services should reflect on its obligations as a State Party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to undertake “… measures to the maximum of its available resources and … with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of these rights…” Article 4 (2) – General Obligations
There seems to be a lack of understanding of how cuts to funding directly affect services and service users. The Taoiseach indicated in the Dáil debates on Wednesday that savings could be made in respect of management, HR systems and purchasing and procurement. However, there is a failure to appreciate the dynamics between cutting non-frontline services and its impact on service provision. It is concerning that public rallies against further cuts were necessary for the HSE to agree to respect service agreements with the service providers.
