From the Social Democrats, I call on Deputy Holly Cairns.

As this is my first time addressing the Dáil since my maternity leave, I hope the Ceann Comhairle will indulge me in saying a few "Thank yous". First, I thank my colleagues in the Social Democrats for their ongoing support. I would like to say a special "Thank you" to our deputy leader, Cian O'Callaghan, for stepping in during my maternity leave. I would also like to say a heartfelt "Thank you" to the people of Cork South-West for re-electing me.

I would also like to acknowledge the loss last weekend of Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy in my area and to convey my condolences to his family. He was an outstanding disability advocate and he worked tirelessly for the Bantry area. He will be sorely missed.

Today, I want to speak to the Taoiseach about disability. Despite all of the promises that we heard during the election, disabled people and their families are still being let down. During the election, the Taoiseach said that disability would be a top priority for his Government. He also said his Government would lead a step change in the level and scale of support for people with disabilities. Let us take a look at what that looks like. Nearly 16,000 children are now overdue on assessment of need, essential therapies and supports are still almost non-existent and hundreds of children are still left in agony waiting for spinal surgeries. The harsh truth is, and I take no pleasure in saying this, that the only things the disabled people are guaranteed by the Government are broken promises and a waiting list.

Despite the 2017 promise that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment, children like Harvey Morrison Sherratt have suffered years of delays, trauma and pain. Harvey waited years for the care that he needed, only receiving surgery last November when the curve in his spine had reached 130°, causing his rib cage to twist around his lungs and heart, restricting his breathing. After Harvey tragically passed away, his mother said that all he wanted was his iPad, Hunky Dorys, the odd lollipop and timely access to healthcare.

Harvey's parents, Gillian and Stephen, and thousands of parents like them around this country, have had to watch their children go for years without the intervention they need, feeling helpless and hopeless in the face of an uncaring system, knowing that every day means their children are further at risk of never reaching their full potential. Children are denied services and prevented from reaching their full potential at every step of the way. We are talking about the difference between a child being able to learn to speak or not - about being able to communicate - and the difference between somebody being able to live an independent life or not.

When disabled people become adults, any meagre supports they had vanish. We have the lowest employment rates for disabled people in the EU and one in five disabled people in Ireland lives in poverty. It is nothing short of shameful. Will the Taoiseach ensure that children waiting for spinal surgeries will finally get the treatment they need? Can the Taoiseach at least acknowledge that the Government is not living up to the commitments that it made?

First, I take the opportunity to welcome you back, Deputy, and I am looking forward to our continued engagements. I think we both share a love of west Cork and the people of west Cork, as well as their representatives in terms of quality, calibre and so forth. I am going to miss Deputy Cian O’Callaghan. I thank him for his forensic engagement over the last while.

I also thank Deputy Cairns for her tributes to Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy, a colleague of ours. We are in deep sadness because Patrick Gerard was a wonderful individual and the definition of what public representation at local level means. He was a man of great and deep insight, commitment, care and compassion, and great courage and bravery as well in terms of his own personal life and as a public representative.

When we said that disability is the top priority of this Government, it is. I accept fully that there are shortcomings, to say the least, in some areas, particularly spinal surgery, assessment of need and the availability of therapies. On the other hand, it is important to create the other side of the narrative as well, that of unrelenting investment in additional needs, particularly, for example, in education in recent years, and exponential growth in services. If we take education alone, the State investment is about €2.9 billion in 2025. That is a 48% increase since 2020 and is a quarter of the entire Department of education budget. We now have 23,000 special needs assistants working in our schools, up 43% in the last five years. We added 1,600 SNAs this year alone. There are 21,000 special education teachers. The number of special classes has doubled to 3,700-plus. We have had 16 new special schools established in the last number of years and 407 new special classes sanctioned for 2025-26.

That represents and reflects investment. It still is not enough. As I said earlier, our population is growing very significantly. If we look at the last two censuses, the most recent one showed a marked increase in the number identifying with a disability, both children and adults.

That means we have to not just increase resources but systemically change as well. To be fair to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, they are already working to change the system for children with additional needs and their families applying for places in schools in terms of a centralised application system being piloted and the time to apply being brought forward by four months so that we have a better lead in time to the subsequent September. I will come back in on the other points later.

The Taoiseach tells us about increased investment and that disability is a priority, but even when it comes to something relatively simple, if we use the example of recognising the cost of disability and addressing it, his Government manages to somehow spectacularly miss the mark. A 2021 report calculated the additional cost of disability to be at €236 per week. What was the Government's response to that? It was a one-off payment of €400, as if having a disability is some kind of a one-off, minor inconvenience. According to the ESRI and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, the cost of disability is now up to €875 per week. One-off payments are not only grossly insufficient; they are insulting.

Tens of thousands of disabled people live in poverty with nearly 76% of disabled people in Ireland at risk of poverty. The Taoiseach says disability is a priority but he published a national disability strategy that lacks any ambition, a budget and any timelines. We have more than enough reports; what we need is action. I have one question. Can the Taoiseach tell us if he will introduce a cost of disability payment in the budget?

First of all, Deputy Cairns's critique of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled Persons is wrong. There was significant participation of people with disabilities in the formulation, delivery and announcement of that strategy. They enthusiastically participated in that. Structures have been created to follow through on it. That is a kind of a cynical, poor response by the Deputy to what was a genuine-----

This is the view of the disabled people with whom I have met.

I am just saying to the Deputy-----

It is not a back-and-forth.

I met with the people at the launch of the strategy. I have created a disability unit in my Department to drive change. We will do it over the lifetime of this Government.

Will the Taoiseach answer the question?

It is right across the board. In terms of cost of living, it is not that simple and the Deputy knows that. However, there will be measures in the budget to help families with disabilities in terms of income supports. There will be measures in the budget in that respect.