Mayo Fianna Fáil Deputy Dara Calleary has revealed that approximately 160 people with severe disabilities in Co Mayo will see a 20 per cent cut in State supports from July.
According to new figures obtained by Fianna Fáil, 160 people with disabilities in Mayo who have been in receipt of the mobility allowance will see a dramatic reduction in their income from July. It follows the Government’s decision last month to axe the scheme. In addition to this a further 15 people will be hit by the cut to the Motorised Transport Grant.
Deputy Calleary described it as a ‘savage cut’ that will have an enormous impact on people with disabilities and their families.
“From July, approximately 160 people in Co Mayo who have severe disabilities will suddenly see a 20 per cent drop in their income. The Government has ripped the scheme from them without warning, without consultation and without any consideration of the enormous impact it will have on their lives,” said Dep Calleary.
“Fine Gael’s justification for axing the mobility allowance is that it is ‘obsolete’. I very much doubt that the hundreds of people here in Mayo and the thousands nationally who have benefited from the scheme see it that way. The Government has no alternative scheme ready to go in its place, so once again this looks like just another sneaky cut targeting the people who are most in need of support.”
Dep Calleary continued: “What we have seen over the past two years is a sustained attack on people with disabilities. Fine Gael and Labour cut the disability allowance in their first budget two years ago. They cut home help hours and personal assistants last August. They have cut the domiciliary care allowance and funding therapies for people with disabilities. They cut the respite care grant in this year’s budget. As if all of that wasn’t enough, they have now cut the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant.
“It is not too late for the Government to reverse this latest deeply unfair decision. I am encouraging the people affected here in Mayo and their families to let their local Fine Gael representatives know just how damaging this cut will be to their lives,” he concluded.
