Opposition parties outraged at Cowen assertion they are ‘using’ disabled

BRIAN Cowen provoked outrage last night by accusing opposition leaders of “using” vulnerable disabled people for political point scoring.

Responding to attacks in the Dáil that he was ignoring protests by families of intellectually challenged people who feared their respite services faced cuts, the Taoiseach said critics had deliberately exaggerated the situation.

The Taoiseach’s comments drew a furious response from Fine Gael and Labour who said it showed how out of touch and “desperate” he was on the issue of funding for disability care.