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PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES are the forgotten people of the pandemic, the Dáil has heard.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called on the Government to restore disability services curtailed because of Covid-19 and provide additional funding for the sector in next week’s Budget.
She said she had been contacted by hundreds of families who had seen their loved one “regress and deteriorate” due to the lack of services in recent months.
Quoting the testimony of a mother with a child with disabilities, she said: “Everybody seems to have forgotten the children and adults who have disabilities. They’ve been left at home with no consistency or back-up.”
Quoting another parent, she added: “Those with disabilities and their families are being swept under the carpet. We are the forgotten people of the pandemic.”
She described the correspondence she has received as the “unvarnished reality” of people’s lives without these services.
The Taoiseach admitted the withdrawal and curtailing of services had made conditions “very stressful” for a lot of people.
“I accept that many, many families and many people with special needs and disabilities have had an extremely stressful and tough time during this pandemic,” he said.
The Fianna Fail leader added he is “determined” to improve the situation for those affected.
But he warned there are “substantial challenges” to doing so.
Mr Martin said additional money had been allocated to enable adult day services to resume, but he added there will be further difficulties and restraints due to the move to level three coronavirus restrictions across the country.
He told the Dail: “Day services have reopened at 40% capacity through August and September. That said, it is far short of what people require and need.”
He added that providing additional funding for disabilities had been discussed in Government ahead of next week’s budget.
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Where are these 800e fees? Sounds an absolute bargain.
@Nomad: too right, paying €2,200 for two kids
@Realist: Per month??!!!!!!
@David Corrigan: yes that’s pretty standard in Dublin and we wonder why the birth far rate is plummeting.
@The Guru: My God. Tag a mortgage, food costs, energy bills and car finance onto that makes for a hell of big number.
I honestly don’t know how people pay it every month.
@Realist: unreal….not rubbing it in at all but i payed 40€ for TWO per month here in sweden.incomprehensible contrast.
And the rest… I pay €1700 a month for my two kids..
@Louise Roche: €1,700 per month = €20,000 per annum. To get that amount of cash you’d have to earn €40,000-ish. I’d imagine that a lot of middle-income families are perplexed that one of their salaries is used to pay the child minders. What’s the point in going to work when all it’s doing is, effectively, paying someone else to do the work that they (the family) could do if only one of them were are work & the other at home? Feck sake; I’ve even confused myself with all this palaver. Am glad I ain’t it that situation anymore.
@Richard Ahern: LIES.
What I’d like to see addressed is how childcare facilities can charge parents for periods when they are closed completely. Or where you’ve paid in full for the month in advance and there happens to be a school mid term in that same month and you’ve to pay an additiinal fee for “mid term camp”, or be without childcare!! Outrageous!
@Emma Stanley: I understand your frustration but the reality is the Irish childcare sector is chronicly underfunding by government and regardless of whether the service is closed for midterm or Xmas staff still need to get paid for their holidays.
And now some employers are insisting on having people back into offices full time, so parents have to look for additional after school care for the days when they could have had the child at home after school.
@Declan B: change employer, show them that they need to consider their workers familial circumstances if they want to keep staff. Free country
It’s absolutely terrible. Let’s see what the Government will do about the cost..
@Derek Moean: Eff All sadly Derek, it’s been an issue for years and years, this report is just a report.
@Derek Moean: ah same as the journals “prices are dropping at the pumps”
@Derek Moean: the only way the government can effectively do anything is if (like in Nordic countries) taxes are raised. I don’t see a lot of appetite for that. And yes, I do have 2 kids and still paying for afterschool fees as I work full time.
I was quoted €637.50 a week just a few days ago. Found someone else and it’ll be €1350 a month instead.
€800 would be the dream.
@: That’s E2700 a month for 22 weekdays. Or E125 a day X Number of children per day.
My local community creche is absolutely amazing, it’s a not for profit and pays it’s employees above the going rate ( for it’s industry). The attrition rate before this year was low. That has all changed, they have lost 4 key members of staff . All ( highly qualified) staff are moving out of the industry as they can earn more , with a lot less stress and responsibility from Customer Service this problem is endemic across the industry. I firmly believe that this sector should be privatised and viewed as early education. The current system isn’t working for anyone except a select few employers.
@Laura Grimes: it’s is privatised
Parents who work are paying it. The standard of childcare is also falling as people accept anything if it means they can afford to go back to work.
The average age in Japan is 50 which is nuts, They have had childcare issues going way back before we did. zero hour contracts, sky high rent, expensive childcare, and unsuitable accommodation has led them there, and we are repeating the same mistake here now.
@Alan Biddulph: It’s ok, unlike Japan we are importing new people to make up for the low birth rate.
Free for children above 2 years old in France, and no more than €30/weeks for younger.
@Michael Legris: Clearly Irish childcare costs are unsustainable. Am I correct that France has higher income taxes than Ireland, along with local taxes and water charges?
Childcare is a joke. We pay €1000 pm for 3 full days and 2 after school collections for 2 hrs
And the rest
Move to Germany. Free childcare here. And no patients on trolleys
Not sure where they found such cheap fees.. not in Dublin at least where we are getting close to pay that money just for after school.
Mind them yourselves!
Such a simple fix as well
Raise the salary limit from which you can claim the rebate (currently you get €0 if you earn under €60k p/a net between both parents) and increase rebate itself
Sometimes I think I should have kids. But articles like this put me off completely. This country is a joke. Hoe can you pay a mortgage and this on top
@Nickwhick: don’t have any
This is a problem I have only sympathy
have your say