Winning Rugby Squad pushes DFI Pre-Budget Submission Over the Line

Click here to read the Disability Federation of Irelands pre-budget submission

The Sunday’s Well Rebels are the World Mixed Ability Rugby champions (2015) and runners up to the title this year. The Rebels made an easy conversion with Deputy Martin at his constituency office in Togher, Cork, recently. He pledged to support DFI’s call for major re-investment in Ireland’s crumbling disability services.

In its pre-Budget 2018 submission, DFI says that Ireland’s disability services are crumbling, with the economic crisis being particularly harsh on people with disabilities.

The range of action called for by the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, include:

• €20 increase in Disability Allowance to guard against poverty;
• Introduction of a range of cross -departmental community supports;
• €50 million investment in Personal Assistants services, home supports and help, therapy services, community neuro rehabilitation and public health nursing;
• €50 million investment in community supports for education, training, employment, transport and assistive technology;
• €30 million for the Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme and accessible housing for 4,456 people with disabilities on social housing waiting list.

Senator John Dolan, DFI Chief Executive, said “The disposable income of people with disabilities fell by 7.4%, a drop of €1,047 between 2010 and 2015. This effectively means that people’s income is down by €20 a week. The poverty rate rose from 14% to 22% for people with disabilities in 2015.

“Today we have 132,000 people with disabilities now living in consistent poverty. This unacceptable figure will continue to spiral unless the Government decides to reverse years of neglect and chronic underfunding,” he said.

It is an inescapable fact that people with disabilities are in a weaker position today than during the recession, said Sen. Dolan.