I congratulate all the newly appointed Ministers of State and extend my sympathies to those who did not make it as there are quite a number of them.

Two weeks ago, around 26 organisations working in the disability and caring sector lost funding under the scheme to support national organisations, SSNO, that funds community and voluntary organisations. This has been a devastating blow. All 11 organisations in the Neurological Alliance of Ireland lost their funding, for example, and the total lost across all 26 organisations is €1.2 million. These organisations support people enduring very rare conditions, such as those inherited genetically and so on. The Irish Deaf Society had to close its deaf advocacy services and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association closed its front-line visitor programme. Chronic Pain Ireland faces closure in less than 12 months, MS Ireland will lose its information, advocacy and research officer, the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland will not be able to put in place early intervention services for people with dementia and the Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland has been forced to end direct front-line services, such as counselling, equipment and carer meetings, due to loss of core funding. The Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland received €22,000 per year through this scheme but the Government has cut this. Huntington's Disease is a rare, degenerative condition and this is an appalling act by the Taoiseach and the Government. Muscular Dystrophy Ireland's front-line facilities manager post cannot now be filled and the Irish Heart Foundation's stroke action community support programme will be severely curtailed.

In The Irish Times today Fintan O'Toole's column described this action by the Government as simply crass stupidity. It is difficult to disagree with him. Many other organisations that help volunteers to help people with rare conditions have been affected. When elected as leader of the Labour Party, the Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, said we govern perhaps too much with the head and not enough with the heart. This decision reveals to me that this Government governs with neither the head nor the heart. Will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure €1.2 million, at least, is restored to the organisations concerned? They have suffered too much already and there is no justification for this.

Deputy Martin is aware there is a formal appeals process open to any organisation that experiences a cut in funding. The Government, across all Departments, takes the disability sector very seriously and currently provides almost €5 billion to disability services across different sectors. Some €1.4 billion of this is provided for health and personal social services through the Health Service Executive's national service plan for 2014. Particular residential services are provided for 9,000 people by 60 agencies in 1,200 different locations and these range from small to large community group homes that support independent living. Day services are provided by 80 organisations to 22,000 people living with intellectual, physical or sensory challenges or autism at 850 different locations around the country. There are now 6,000 people with intellectual or physical disabilities availing of respite residential support and some 3.7 million hours of home support are provided by personal assistants.

Other services provided under the disability services programme include respite, early childhood family support, community-based medical, nursing and therapy services and rehabilitative training aids and appliances. Most disability services are now provided by the voluntary sector. As I said in last week's statement of Government priorities, the Tánaiste and I have committed to implementing the report of the value for money and policy review of the disability services programme. This will revolutionise how the State interacts with people with disabilities and will mean a whole new model of personalised, community-based service providing greater choice for people with disabilities. This means the disability service will be restructured by linking budgets to activity, quality and outcomes for service users. These are important developments in difficult financial circumstances and they indicate the Government's commitment to improving quality of life for people with disabilities and to allocating resources based on personal needs. We are adamant that public services for people with disabilities must be as effective and responsive as possible.

A formal independent appeals process is open to any organisation that has seen a reduction in funding and I suggest this is the route to follow.

I do not know what planet the Taoiseach inhabits. I am talking about a figure in the region of €1 million and the figure relating to the Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland is €22,000 per year. The Taoiseach should forget the appeals process and sort this out.

Hear, hear.

This would not have happened if there was a national disability strategy as such a strategy is meant to allow for cross-cutting decision making. According to the former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, the former Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, gave this matter careful assessment before announcing the grants. Money has been taken from these organisations. The Neurological Alliance of Ireland is only receiving €60,000 per year and will have to cease operations by the end of the year as a result of this decision.

The total available is €5 billion.

There is no heart in this decision and it is appalling. It is indefensible and unjustifiable. Mr. John Dolan of the Disability Federation of Ireland made a speech on this and said that at this rate the federation will not have the basic elements to support people with disabilities by the end of next year. The Government's disability strategy is in shreds. In fact, there has not been a co-ordinated disability strategy for the past three years. Cuts have been made left, right and centre and the respite grant has fallen a great deal so the Taoiseach has a nerve even to mention it in this House. Despite the rhetoric, at the heart of the Government there is no clear, co-ordinated focus on disability and this is evident in the fact that these organisations have lost their paltry funding. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene to sort this out and reallocate the €1 million to the organisations concerned.

Deputy Martin is very strong on rhetoric but his memory has slipped again.

Deputy Martin gave the facts.

Deputy Martin drove the cut of €16.40 per week for people with disabilities. He also represents the party that cut the blind person's allowance, not once but twice, without any consultations. Fianna Fáil cut mobility allowances, carer's allowance, carer's benefit and removed the Christmas bonus from all of these groups. Shame on Fianna Fáil. Deputy Martin has a cheek talking about decisions led by the heart and the head.

Hear, hear.

Why does the Taoiseach not bring back the Christmas bonus if that is how he feels?

The Taoiseach should stop talking nonsense.

Deputy Martin often stood on the other side of the House, as is his duty, to say Ireland needs an effective response to the spending of public money. There is a disability strategy and, as the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, pointed out, we are now moving to implement the strategy nationally.

The Taoiseach is a hypocrite.

This would not have happened if we had a disability strategy.

Fianna Fáil left the country broke.

This only requires €1 million from a €5 billion budget.

The point is that Pobal carried out an independent assessment of the effectiveness of how public money is spent on these services. There is an appeals process for any group that has had a cut in its allocation. Pobal carried out the assessment to ensure the money is spent most effectively on the people that need the funding. I will not accept the nonsense spoken by Deputy Martin.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government said forget about health and disability. Is the Taoiseach saying the Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland did not spend €22,000 properly?

Fine Gael has been in government for three years.