Taxes should be used for a vital service

COMMENT

It was a badly kept secret in the run up to the vote on the European fiscal compact that the Government had imposed something of a moratorium on negative news. In order to keep the population on side it was decided, somewhere in the upper echelons of Irish political life, that the kinds of cuts, austerity and erosion of public services that are now the norm should be kept under wraps until the vote was over.
Many people reading this will think of such an action as cynical in the extreme but, realistically, it is just a wise move. Whether the vote was positive or negative with regards to Europe, the cuts would have come anyway. So for the Government it was just wise not to further upset the electorate by revealing the brutal financial reality that awaited them just before they voted. In the past, these votes on Europe have been seen as a test of the government’s popularity so deliberately angering people before they enter the ballot box is simply a bad idea.
Now that the vote has been passed however, the floodgates will swing open. Not that the Government will release all their bad news at once, you understand. The fact is they have no good news to release and the month-long break from releasing details of their plans has created a backlog, which needs to be cleared. It was reported in the Irish Times on Monday that a halt to funding of respite services for parents with disabled children was being considered by the Government. In the piece, journalist Carl O’Brien outlines a future scenario where families would have to pay for respite out of their annual grant as Government funding is withdrawn. Anyone who knows somebody or has a relative with a disability knows all too well the physical, mental and financial pressure it places on the family.
To have Government funding withdrawn in this way is nothing short of an act of aggression. The care given by families all over Ireland to their loved ones already saves the Irish Government an enormous amount of money. To now punish families in this position by withdrawing funding for respite is unforgivable.
Certainly, the Government has to make savings in public spending, especially now that they have a prescription from the European Union but surely there are other areas where savings can be made. The love and support that is delivered by the families and friends of those with a disability in Ireland is incredible and the Government is aware that people will do everything in their power for their loved ones.
They will go without and work themselves, sometimes to the point of illness, in order to provide education, facilities and everything else for their child. In this case, it seems that Ireland’s elected coalition is withdrawing funding in this area, full in the knowledge that the carers, supporters and families will continue to do their utmost.
In this case however, the potential health and wellbeing implications for carers are being ignored. Respite, as the name suggests, provides carers and families with a well-earned break. It is not full-time care, it is simply a small amount of time where a family can catch their breath while their loved one is temporarily cared for by somebody else. This small window of time is a necessary tonic for those who care fulltime and is the very least they deserve.
Deirdre Carroll, who is the former chief executive of the umbrella group Inclusion Ireland, is quoted in the article mentioned above. She says in a lot of cases, families will not be able to afford respite care if these plans are followed through.
Because of their tireless work, many people in the county will be aware of the Clare Crusaders. The charity was founded in 2005 and, according to their website, provides care to over 190 children in the county who have a range of disabilities such as autism and downs syndrome.
The group receives no Government funding and manages, through the incredible work of volunteers, to raise the €250,000 it costs to run the centre and its services every year. On the shoulders of those who give their time and money rests the future of the centre and, to a large extent, the future wellbeing of the children they treat.
When the Government claims to be creating jobs, as they so often do, they are not aiming to empower people through employment. They are aiming to get them off the Government’s books so that they will not have to receive State aid in any way shape or form. The costs involved in providing a decent standard of living for somebody with intellectual disabilities are so high that two people with good incomes can be pushed to the pin of their collar by the expense, so having a job is only one part of the puzzle. As the ideology of public service eradication, started by successive Fianna Fáil-led coalitions, is being continued under the current combination, then the responsibility to care and endlessly fundraise will fall more and more on the shoulders of friends and family.
It speaks to the kind of ideology behind Irish politics in recent years that those who find themselves caring for a loved one with a disability are finding the support offered to them by the State continuously eroded. Every Government must balance its books but surely most reasonable people would agree that this is an area where money really should be spent.
Finding the money to provide services will not be easy in the coming years of austerity but the Government could start by not cutting what services are already in place. It goes without saying that the people who contribute to fundraising efforts will have less to contribute in the coming years so to ask them to dig even deeper to replace services that have been cut is a non-runner. In their eagerness to cut back their spending, the Government must beware that they do not become indiscriminate in their actions. Services and support for the nation’s carers and those they care for, must not only be maintained at current levels but increased. It is clear from the willingness of the general public to donate their cash to fundraising events that this is how they wish their money to be spent.
The Government should take note and use the money people pay in tax to provide the services that people so desperately need.