'Do not abandon us' says Irish Wheelchair Association in Louth

Irish Wheelchair Association marched on Leinster House last Wednesday to present its pre-budget submission to Government.

Members and employees from Louth and around the country gathered to plead with the government to ‘hear our voice’ and ‘not abandon people with disabilities’ in Budget ‘24.

Among the large contingent was National Community Supports Director Mildred Carroll who is from Co Louth where IWA has three centres, located in Drogheda, Ardee and Dundalk.

Speaking outside Leinster House she highlighted the difficulties being faced in retaining and recruiting staff due to the government’s inaction around pay parity for Section 39 workers.

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It is widely known that IWA staff have been recruited by the HSE and other agencies in different areas because of better pay and conditions and this is really impacting negatively on those who use IWA services, Mildred said.

She said: “Staff who work for IWA for many years have no choice but to leave the service because they can’t afford to stay working with us anymore.

“This is hard on the organisation but also very challenging for the people they have supported over the years.”

A number of Louth politicians came out to discuss the IWA's budget proposals with them, including Fergus ‘O Dowd, Ged Nash, Imelda Munster, Ruairi O’Murchu, Peter Fitzpatrick and Erin McGreehan.

National Advocacy Manager Joan Carthy said: “We are urging the government in this budget to provide full pay restoration for Section 39 organisations and a return to alignment with HSE pay scales.”

The cost of disability, housing, independent living and transport access are also key issues covered in the association’s comprehensive submission which contains 33 recommendations across seven pivotal areas: Sectoral Funding, Personal Assistants, Housing, Transport, Day Services, Social Protection and Sport.
These include:
*Publish an action plan for the Disability Capacity Review and invest money to resource it.

*Provide funding to section 39 organisations to achieve pay parity in line with HSE workers.

*Amend Part M of the Building Regulations which currently only provide for wheelchair visitable housing and not wheelchair liveable resulting in homelessness for people with disabilities.

*Immediately progress the review of the Disabled Drivers and Passengers scheme.

*Change the allocation of funding from Community Employment Schemes to core funding.

*Establish the principle of a cost of disability payment. Budget ‘24 should not be passed without implementing the findings of this report.

*Provide additional funding to support the IWA-Sports performance programme which would enable our athletes to compete at the highest levels.

Latest data from Census 2022 shows that 22% of our population (1,109,557 people) have a disability of some extent and that this generally increased with age – from 4% of people aged 0-4 years to 76% among the over 85’s.

This reinforces more than ever the need for the government to deliver on its commitment towards the full implementation of UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).

“As a population, we are living longer and as a result, the likelihood of us acquiring a physical disability is higher,” said Joan Carthy of Irish Wheelchair Association.

“Ireland needs to plan ahead to ensure that people with disabilities get the right services, in the right place at the right time. We want choice not charity.”