The past 12 months have not been good for people with disabilities. It has been a year of cutbacks, fear, anxiety, worry, frustration and anger. The anger is mainly directed at the Government and those in authority who do not seem to realise the impact of cuts on the ground for people with disabilities. We are hearing this loud and clear from parents across the country on a continuing basis. There are several areas I wish to highlight where this is being felt the most.

Across the country, despite official rhetoric, special needs assistance has been cut from schools and children have lost their special needs assistants. For young people with disabilities who leave school, there is no guarantee of placement for them at the end of this year and there was none last year. About 700 people with disabilities came out of school last year and it will be the same figure this year. It is a sad indictment on our society-----

It is a sad indictment on Fianna Fáil and its years in power.

-----that the only children who cannot be guaranteed a place coming out of school are young people with disabilities.

It was Fianna Fáil that was in power.

The Deputy without interruption.

Yes, when we were in power there was continuing demographic-----

Fianna Fáil created the chaos. Deputy Martin has some neck.

The Deputy without interruption.

What provision did Fianna Fáil make for this area when it was in power?

There was provision. That is the point. Demographic funding was an ongoing provision for young people leaving school with special needs. They were provided a place which in total came to €20 million per annum. The Health Service Executive, HSE, has confirmed that such funding has been gotten rid of.

I want to take the case of Emma, a young woman, 19 years of age, with severe autism and severe epilepsy. She needs a full-time residential placement. The officials in the HSE could not help the mother or the family in this case.

Thank you, Deputy.

The HSE officials told the mother that they were not in a position to provide additional funding for school leavers in 2012. The Minister confirmed that to me in writing.

Because Fianna Fáil bankrupted the country.

It will be getting worse in the next couple of weeks.

There has been a ruthless review of the domiciliary care allowance, particularly in so far as it applies to children with autism. Up to 60% of all applications for domiciliary care allowance in the first six months of this year were refused. Up to half of applications for children with autism were refused. I want to cite a case of a young child called Alex-----

No, Deputy, you cannot. It is Leaders’ Questions. Would you please put a question?

This is an important point.

I know that but you are over time.

I will finish it quickly. His is a case of severe social impairment, challenging behaviour, speech delay, he has been described as a flight risk and requires constant supervision. The Department of Social Protection stated this child is not entitled to a domiciliary care allowance. Will the Taoiseach accept there was a lack of basic funding in last year’s budget for people with disabilities, particularly young people with disabilities?

Thank you, Deputy.

Will he ensure adequate funding for school placements next year?

No, I do not accept that. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has pointed out that €1.4 billion is provided in this area. I make the point to Deputy Martin that we should be very grateful to the service providers who do an extraordinary job with limited circumstances. There has never been a guarantee like he speaks of for children in this area. I do not know the case of the young person with autism to which he is referring.

There will be lots more.

One can always find cases like this that are individual, sensitive and important. The Deputy should let me have the details of this case.

There were 3,000 parents protesting outside Leinster House last week.

I must point out to Deputy Martin, however, that there was never a guarantee for placements in these cases. Up to €1.4 billion is provided in this health area. The service providers in this area do an extraordinary job and are proving they can do so much more with less. If Deputy Martin so wishes, he can send the details of this particular case of an autistic young person to the Minister directly and we will see the response. I listened to a case this morning of a claim that grants for a particular school had been terminated completely when in fact there are many options open to the school to deal with this.

With the greatest respect, the system knows this case very well. I did not raise it this morning so that the Taoiseach could take another file from me just to process it back around again. This is a familiar response from the Taoiseach when we are raising issues of systemic importance.

Do you want me to solve it?

It is a merry-go-round.

Mattie, you were part of ruining the country.

Do you want it solved or not?

The issue here is a decision by the Government to get rid of the annual demographic funding that was provided for young people with special needs who left school. In the case to which I referred, the HSE representatives stated they had not received any demographic funding for new residential places in 2011 and 2012 and, therefore, they were not in a position to fund a full-time residential placement or shared care placements at the present time.

Can we have a supplementary question, please?

That is the root of the issue. It was summed up by a parent who wrote to me on this. Parents of children with disabilities are angry because normally at age 18 all students from------

I must remind the Deputy again that this is Question Time. Will you please put your question?

-----the school go on to placements. Children without special needs can move on to placement. It is the children with special needs who seem to have the largest problem getting placements. This can be dealt with and resolved.

Thank you, Deputy.

Last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, was boasting that she got rid of the demographic funding and the service providers were in a position to cope.

I was not boasting.

The service providers are not in a position to cope.

Thank you, Deputy.

They are telling people and every Member this. We know it from the parents of the children who are coming to talk to us.

Deputy, will you please adhere to the Chair and put your question?

I am asking the Taoiseach to sort out the broader problem and issues so as to avoid this targeting of people with special needs both in school placements and the application of the domiciliary care allowance. The most dreaded word for parents of children with disabilities is "review". Once they see that word-----

Deputy, I will not ask a third time. Will you please resume your seat?

-----they get very angry and fearful because it means special and ruthless targeting of people with special needs.

Resume your seat, Deputy.

This is all because of the bank guarantee.

Deputy Martin should review how we got here.

If Fianna Fáil had not messed up the country-----

Deputies, there is a time limit on this debate.

Deputies, thank you.

The Deputies opposite need to take a bit of responsibility. They are cutting services.

Deputy Finian McGrath supported the last Government.

Thank you.

Deputy Finian McGrath was part of the support mechanism.

Will the Deputy, please, allow the Taoiseach to finish? This is Leaders' Questions, not statements.

In fairness, Deputy Finian McGrath jumped ship.

The Minister is getting shifty, too.

Deputy Micheál Martin speaks about targeting people individually. He has raised the case of an autistic child who needs a placement. If he wants that problem to be solved or investigated properly, I invite him to send me the details.

I sent the details to the Minister.

The Deputy should note that €1 million has been allocated from the disability budget for autism services, specifically those dealing with these cases. He tells us that we should not target people, yet he raises a particular case in the House.

The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, knows that they do not have the money.

If the Deputy wants to have that case examined, I invite him to send us the details to we see what can be done.

I want the system to be changed and it can be.

Persons with a disability, despite the economic circumstances we face, have been better protected than any other sector. There are always cases.

The fund was wiped out in its entirety.

The Deputy seems to assume that he is the only one who has access to the people concerned. I am told their stories every day of the week, as everyone else here knows.

No, I do not.

Unfortunately, these cases are the fallout from the bank guarantee and the legacy with which we have to deal.

That is rubbish. The Taoiseach got rid of demographic bodies.

In this case the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has €1 million from the disability budget to deal with autistic cases alone. The Deputy is well aware that an independent review is being carried out of the service providers dealing with the case he mentioned.

That is frightening.

The Government is cutting the disability budget.

We might take away the allowance of €42,000.

We are over time. I call Deputy Pearse Doherty on behalf of Sinn Féin.

The Minister of State is cutting the disability budget. She is doing it.

Will the Deputy, please, respect the Chair? I have called Deputy Pearse Doherty.

The Minister of State is cutting services for people with disability who have a right to them.

The Deputy will be leaving the Chamber in one minute.

I am not accepting it.

Will the Deputy, please, resume his seat?

No way, a Cheann Comhairle. I am not accepting it.

The Deputy will leave the House.

This is not a real republic because the Government is slashing services.

The Deputy will leave the House.

No, a Cheann Comhairle, I will not, not until the Minister puts it right.

I told the Deputy to leave the House.

I am defending the rights of people with a disability against the cuts. The Labour Party is against me.

I am asking the Deputy again to leave the House. Out, please. Any more messing and the same treatment will apply. This has become a total sham.

Make sure that you are fair with it.

The Deputy will be next if he is not careful. Deputy Pearse Doherty to continue, without interruption.