Sinn Féin spokesperson on Disability and Carers, Pauline Tully TD, has called on the Government to allocate funding to ensure the full re-opening of day-services for people with disabilities.

Teachta Tully said: 

“I would like to commend all the staff involved in getting day-services reopened at very short notice and in what are exceptionally difficult and unprecedented circumstances. However, I am concerned that day-services are reopening at a much reduced capacity and, as a result, people with disabilities may be discriminated against by a failure to ensure they receive the full services they need.

“People who were receiving five full days pre-Covid are now only receiving one, two and if lucky three days.

“From engagement within the sector, I am aware that some service providers have been advised that there is not going to be any additional funding made available to them to help them reopen fully.

“I would question why these services are not being treated on a par with equivalent services that have been re-opened. Day-services are education and training facilities for adults and school leavers with disabilities. Schools are all now fully reopened – why not day-services?

“To end this discrimination and to allow day-services to fully and safely reopen, financial assistance is required from the government.  A ring-fenced budget is vitally important.

 “A budget was provided to assist schools in their preparations to reopen in their entirety and it was done to accommodate the vast majority of students on a full time basis. It is clear that the same should apply for the full and safe reopening of day-centres for people with disabilities.

“People with disabilities should not be treated as an afterthought. They have the right to have their needs met and their concerns listened to. The Government cannot continue to fail people with disabilities by this unacceptable lack of prioritisation and allocation of funding and resources.”