The Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on mental health, disability and special needs and General Election candidate for Galway East Colm Keaveney has said that disability inclusion will be a priority for Fianna Fáil if elected to run the country.
Speaking in the wake of a protest earlier this week by people with disabilities outside the Dáil he accused the Government of sidelining them over the past five years.
He stated that Fine Gael and Labour said the area of disability was going to be a social justice priority issue. However he claimed this commitment was quickly reneged on and people with disabilities were particularly affected by the five “regressive and punitive” budgets introduced by the coalition.
“Fianna Fáil has a different way, a fairer way, and we have outlined in our Manifesto and our recently published document ‘Supporting Disability Inclusion’ our key measures for people with disabilities. In Government we will have a Minister at the cabinet table with responsibility for disability issues and this will ensure that disability inclusion will be a central tenet of the next Government.
“Furthermore, we will work towards the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Person with a Disability (UNCRPD ) and we will introduce a cost of disability top-up payment in recognition of the additional costs faced by those with a disability. These are just a few of the measures that we will introduce to ensure that people with disabilities are able to live their lives as full and equal citizens.”
He outlined that Fianna Fáil is committed to creating “an Ireland for all” and it will ensure that under its watch people with disabilities will see a “real and tangible improvement” in living standards and income adequacy.
