Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, has welcomed a commitment from the Taoiseach that he will confirm today in writing that the disgraceful disability cuts of €20m will no longer go ahead.
Deputy Shortall said:
“These cuts, billed as ‘efficiency cuts’, were announced back in January before the Covid-19 crisis. And while there were vague suggestions from the former Minister for Health that they would not go ahead during the pandemic, this is not what service providers in the disability sector were hearing on the ground from the HSE.
“Last week, the new Minister for Health said he did not know if the cuts would still go ahead so I welcome today’s confirmation from the Taoiseach that they will not proceed. In the Dáil today, I pressed him to put this in writing to the HSE and disability organisations immediately.”
Deputy Shortall added:
“We now need a comprehensive plan for reopening services that will allow providers to observe social distancing requirements and all other issues. I will be calling on the Government to ensure that adequate resourcing is put in place to allow this to happen.”
July 29, 2020