Laois and Offaly unheard families 'burnt out' as services 'starved'
The Budget has been a 'disaster for disability services' in Laois and Offaly according to local Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley which has left unheard families burnt out without respite and other services.
He referred to a Sinn Féin Dáil motion on the issue, and urged the other four TDs in Laois and Offaly to stand up for people with disabilities in their constituency, and to support the call for government to address what a statement said was a funding failure.
“Budget 2024 has starved disability services in Laois and Offaly of funding,” said the Dep Stanley in a statement.
He added: “Underfunding these services would mean that children will continue to wait too long for - and go without - the assessments and therapies they need, that young people with disabilities will remain inappropriately placed in nursing homes, and that carers will continue to burn out without respite.
“Budget 2024 failed people with disabilities and their families. It is a disaster for disability services. This failure must now be fixed. People living with disabilities and their families in Laois and Offaly must have their voices heard, and those elected to represent them need to stand up for them and ensure that the services they need are properly funded.
“The government has the money to sort this out and cannot starve these vital services of funding they need to continue to operate. It is a bare minimum that as a state we look after our most vulnerable citizens and their families who face burn out without access to services, including respite," he said.
The TD said that for those with disabilities, for their families, for their carers and for those trying to deliver disability services, the government must revise the budgetary provisions for disability services," he said.
The TD insisted that Sinn Féin is calling on government to revise the budgetary provisions for disability services so that new monies available for improvements amount to at least €155 million next year and separately to ensure that the costs of disability and running disability services are properly provided for.
The said the Government budget allocation €64m additional spending.
“Crucially, they must also address the recruitment and retention crisis in disability services by making a better offer to trade unions and allocating the funding necessary to achieve pay parity for workers in Section 39 organisations.
“They must also guarantee that the one-off payments provided to assist disability service providers to cover the ongoing high cost of delivering existing services in 2023 will be repeated for 2024," he said.
He called for a fully costed Disability Action Plan which he said would meets the needs of people with disabilities, including existing unmet need and expected future need, and which places disability services on a sustainable footing.
“The government needs to start listening, and right the wrongs of Budget 2024," he said.
He concluded by stating that that Sinn Féin will continue to fight for people with disabilities and their families, so that the services they need are both accessible and properly funded.