Disabled protest over funding cutbacks

DISABLED people and their families will take to the streets of Cork tomorrow in protest over savage health cutbacks.

They want to highlight how Government belt-tightening has resulted in the slashing of personal assistant (PA) hours for people with disabilities in recent months.

They will march to the Health Service Executive offices on George’s Quay to demand that funding for this vital service be restored to pre-2007 levels.

The protest is being organised by the Cork Independent Living (CIL) centre Cutback Action Group.

CIL was founded in 1996 to provide an assisted living service to people with a disability.

Funded entirely by the HSE, it has almost 100 clients in the city.

One of its most crucial services is delivering PA hours to people who need this support in their daily lives.

PAs work with disabled people to allow them lead independent lives.

CIL had a multi-annual budget of €220,000 from the HSE in 2007.

Traditionally, the money was released in stages but in 2007, it received just €30,000 — a shortfall of €190,000.

One of the main organisers of the protests, Pauline Hannafin, said CIL was told by the HSE to continue delivering its level of service so it borrowed money.

However, CIL is on course this year to receive just €170,000 — again a shortfall of €50,000 on pre-2007 levels.

The shortage over the two years has forced CIL to pare its services back to the bone and slash the amount of PA hours it delivers by almost 30%.

There are fears that given the economic circumstances, funding shortages will continue.

Ms Hannafin said the action group was formed outside CIL to give a voice to the voiceless.

“There are people out there in dire straits. There are people who can’t leave their homes because their PA hours have been cut,” she said.

“We are there to represent the people who can’t fight. We want the HSE to restore the money due to CIL, we want the funding to restore the PA hours, and a guarantee that they won’t be cut again.”

She said the cuts will not just affect the 100 CIL clients but also the 70 people who are on its waiting list.

“What are those people supposed to do? Put their lives on hold? They could be waiting up to two years,” she said.

Protestors will gather at Daunt Square at noon tomorrow before marching to the HSE offices at Abbey Court House on Georges Quay.