WATCH: Tipperary TD slams government's disability strategy as underfunded and lacking substance
‘Monumentally worse’ crisis leaves thousands waiting years for vital supports, warns Independent TD
Tipperary TD Seamus Healy has sharply criticised the Government’s National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People, claiming it lacks both substance and sufficient funding.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Independent TD said that people with disabilities are entitled to live full lives, but that this right is being undermined by persistent failures in service delivery.
He pointed in particular to the Government’s continued inability to meet its legal duty to provide children with an assessment of need within six months of referral.
“This government is again failing people with disabilities. Successive governments have been breaking this law for years – apparently governments are above the law,” Deputy Healy said.
He noted that he had first raised the matter in 2017 with then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, now Tánaiste. Since then, he argued, the situation has worsened significantly.
“The position now is monumentally worse – 16,500 children are waiting for assessment. Thousands of them are waiting for more than 2 years,” he told the chamber.
His remarks add to the mounting criticism of delays in disability services, with campaigners and families warning that the backlog is denying children access to essential supports.
Deputy Healy’s comments serve as a reminder that behind every statistic are families struggling to secure basic rights for their children. The persistent failure to deliver timely assessments reflects not just administrative shortcomings but a deeper neglect of legal and moral responsibilities.
Unless meaningful action is taken to bridge the gap between policy and practice, the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People risks becoming yet another document of promises unfulfilled.