Disability Matters: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I do not doubt her commitment to her brief and progressing these matters but the pace of change is too slow. Some progress has been made. It was good to hear the Minister of State mention that we cannot work in silos. That needs to apply to the Government and Departments as a whole. At the disability matters committee earlier today, we heard people's lived experiences of feeling they are being passed around the houses from pillar to post when seeking support, be it by the Minister of State's Department or housing, Transport, Heath or Social Protection. The joined-up piece is important when we speak of disability and other issues. We need to move away from managing crises in this country and in this area to solving them.
There was a lot of talk about disability during the general election. A lot of light has been shed on the area in recent years. In many ways, we have played catch-up with recent Ministers to address the scale of the crisis and how far behind we are as a country. There is no unique experience. Everyone's experience of disability can be very different. Sometimes it can be the same, but it can be very different for an individual depending on their disability, which is what we are discussing. There is a need for personalised care.
At today's meeting of the disability matters committee, numerous groups and parents spoke, including those from the Before We Die campaign. It is completely unacceptable that parents in this country are caring into their 90s for their children, care for which they should receive support and that the State should be providing. People are not registered at an early age and, therefore, are not getting early intervention from childhood onwards. Care should be for a whole life cycle. Many of us in the Chamber, as Senator Clonan often correctly reminds us, will develop or may have developed a disability. This is something that the entire population may experience during their lifetime.
The word "inhumane" was used by some witnesses at the committee. The lack of dignity was cited. One of the witnesses said she felt we are going backwards. Another said he feels they are living in a black hole. That is a very dark description and language to use for that experience. They feel they are being completely let down by the State. One area is the cost of disability. We heard from groups after the budget, including disability organisations, which said disabled people were made less well off by €1,400 by the budget. Introducing an emergency cost of disability payment as a starting point is necessary.
Regarding housing, local authorities need more resources and more planning is required for disability teams, not just in housing adaptation but how we build houses and universal design. We are way behind the curve and that has an impact on independent living.
I am struck by the disparity between regions. At the committee, we heard the average hours of personal assistance provided in Dublin can be much higher than in the south west. It is similar for home care supports. Why is there such disparity between regions? I know it comes down to staffing and recruitment, which the Minister of State is working on, but we need to improve that. We need to keep people in the country in terms of recruitment. This comes down to workforce planning. The Minister for further and higher education has a role to play. We need a whole-of-government approach as part of this.
I refer to employment. We are 20% below our European counterparts in terms of workforce participation. What can be done about that? Do we need more carrot-and-stick approaches for employers? What solutions can be put in place?

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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