Members of the Irish Wheelchair Association, IWA, including staff and wheelchair users, were protesting outside today. They may still be there. I strongly urge the Taoiseach to look at its pre-budget submission. All of the wheelchair users I spoke said they feel abandoned and they are not getting the income supports they need to deal with the additional costs of disability, which the Department itself has acknowledged amount to between €9,000 and €11,000. The lack of funding for properly adapted accommodation or housing for people with disabilities was also mentioned but one of the key issues they asked about was pay parity for personal assistants, the section 39 workers. They stated that the Taoiseach had personally said the money would be made available to give pay parity to personal assistants. Without that, there is a drain of those personal assistants out of the IWA, which then impacts on services for wheelchair users. Will the Taoiseach honour his commitment?

There is a WRC process under way involving my Department, the Department of Health, Tusla and the HSE and related to both section 39 and section 56 organisations, which have not seen the degree of pay restoration that civil and public servants have received. That process is ongoing. Our Departments and agencies are participating in it. It has not concluded yet but I hope the process can lead to a satisfactory outcome for many of these organisations.

When?

I hope we will see a satisfactory outcome over the course of the summer.