Poor economy no excuse, says DFI

THE Government cannot use the economic downturn as an excuse to backtrack on assistance promised to the disabled in next month’s budget, a lobby group declared yesterday.

The State’s administrators had to make a major down payment on commitments given in June, the Disability Federation of Ireland insisted.

DFI chief executive John Dolan said Government parties were aware of changing economic circumstances when they announced in their Programme for Government that they were committed to improving the lot of the disabled.

At the time, the Government stated: “We are committed to building service provision and legislative frameworks which enable people with disabilities to fulfil their potential and make full contribution to the economic and social life of our country.”

Mr Dolan said the DFI was confident that the Government would use Budget 2003 to deliver on its agenda.

DFI is calling on the Government to honour its commitments to provide:

* Adequate income supports.

* A comprehensive range of community services.

* The enactment of rights-based legislation.

DFI chairperson Niall Keane said that after five years of Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats Government, the lives of people with disabilities were still inextricably linked with poverty.

An ESRI report this year showed that more than half of households headed by an ill or disabled person were living at or below the 60% poverty line.

And while the national unemployment rate is about 4.4%, at least 70% of people with a disability are unemployed.

Mr Dolan said the Government also stated in June that it was starting the second half of a ten-year programme to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

“This is year six and there is a lot more left to be done in relation to the disability commitments,” he said.

“In the current programme, they pledged that five years from now they would have transformed the country from what it was ten years before.

“People with disabilities have to be part of that commitment.”

Mr Dolan said disabled people had effectively become second-class citizens because they could not operate in everyday society in a way that would be regarded as normal for everyone else.

“Their income is significantly below that of other people.

“If that does not mean they are second-class citizens, what does?”