Disability Matters: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Tom Clonan (IND), University of Dublin

We are 30 years behind England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We should be ashamed of ourselves. I heard parents say in the Leinster House complex this morning that they wished their children would die. What kind of a society is that? The Government just does not get it. As one of the mothers said this morning, the Government needs to come out of its bubble. I have been saying this ad nauseam for the last four years. I have to go home now and be a carer with the minimum support from the State, despite its constitutional aspirations for beautiful young men like my son.
I am sorry that I am exercised by this. It is not personal to the Minister of State, but I do not get a sense of urgency from anybody. All I hear is word salad about this, that and the other but our objective circumstances of living are deteriorating on every measurable metric. I apologise to the Chair.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22