Dáil Technical Group Demands Justice and Fairness for Persons with a Disability
The Dáil Technical Group including Deputy Seamus Healy is this week demanding justice and fairness for people with disabilities.
There will be a 3 hour debate on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week on the following motion:
“That Dáil Éireann:
notes the grave injustice that is the current assessment, review and appeals system for Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) which has, since its transfer to the Department of Social Protection in 2009, seen:
– a continuous escalation in application refusals based on desk assessments carried out by administrators and medical assessors neither of which are required to be qualified specialists in the relevant area of disability;
– an upsurge in reviews of DCA recipient eligibility which often result in extortionate costs to parents who must, at short notice, obtain expert medical evidence to support the defence of their much needed claim (evidence for which they are often forced to pay private sector experts given the unavailability of public sector options within the short timeframes set out by the Department of Social Protection for such reviews);
– the development of a staggering 38 week wait period for those seeking an oral appeal of an unsuccessful application or a finding of ineligibility upon review;
– a situation arise whereby 2,420 applicants and recipients subject to review appealed the Department’s negative decision in their case during 2011 alone, 52% of which were successful in their appeal;
– the unnecessary imposition of an additional emotional burden upon families as a result of being forced to embark upon a lengthy and costly appeal process which, in 52% of cases, upholds the original claim for DCA and proves the injustice of the initial refusal;
– a persistent failure to inform families of the specific reasons a child does not qualify for DCA, thereby preventing parents from appealing a decision on specific grounds rather than causing a lengthy and costly review of the entire process; and
– the placing of formal or informal restrictions upon Health Service Executive (HSE) experts precluding them from recommending the provision of a DCA to an individual on the basis of a diagnosis they have made;
deplores:
– the emergence of a backdoor approach to denying additional supports such as Carer’s Allowance, the Respite Care Grant, the Household Benefits Package and sibling supports as a result of a finding of ineligibility for DCA; and
– the apparent development of a cynical policy to routinely refuse DCA applications and categorise recipients ineligible in the short-sighted hope of making savings
– adding greatly to the anxiety and hardship endured by some of the most marginalised and vulnerable families in the State; and calls on the Government to immediately reform the DCA system by:
– returning the administration of this system to the Department of Health;
– insisting that medical assessors are competent to assess the medical information submitted and are on the relevant specialist medical register (e.g. paediatrics or child psychiatry), remove the ‘Guide to the Normal Age of Attainment of Certain Activities’ currently in use by medical assessors (as compiled by the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys study on Disability in Childhood in the United Kingdom) and
ensure that all decisions on DCA applications and existing claims are made by child protection or disability social workers;
– providing DCA applicants and recipients with access to all documentation held in relation to their claim upon request and within a reasonable timeframe;
– affording recipients sufficient notice of an upcoming review in order that they may obtain the requisite expert evidence through public sector sources as should be provided for through the ‘Assessment of Needs’ procedure under the Disability Act 2005;
– revoking any and all restrictions placed upon HSE experts precluding them from recommending that individuals and/or families require specific supports such as the DCA;
– limiting to 7 weeks at most (the Department’s target time for the processing of DCA applications) the total time it takes to hear and adjudicate over summary and oral appeals on DCA;
– publishing the general details of decisions on social welfare appeals (while ensuring the anonymity of those concerned) in satisfaction of the Article 34.1 constitutional guarantee that justice ‘shall be administered in public’ in view of the quasi-judicial status of such appeals;
– introducing a truly streamlined and human rights focused DCA system which is administered in the understanding of the uphill struggle that is everyday life for those seeking DCA and does not actively exhaust the precious time and resources at their disposal in lengthy application, review and appeals processes; and
– prioritising the delivery of all necessary resources, supports and funds to children with special needs in order to facilitate them in attaining their full potential as equal citizens of Ireland.”
Seamus Healy T.D.
56 Queen Street
Clonmel
08/05/2012
087 2802199
The campaign to build opposition to the Government’s €100 household charge is set to go county-wide as a number of additional public meetings are set to take place this month in North Tipperary, followed by more in the south of the county.
South Tipperary independent TD and Workers and Unemployed Action Group (WUAG) member Seamus Healy, who is also a member of the national Non Payment Campaign, has already held three public meeting on the household charge, septic tank charge and other related issues.
Next week on February 9 and 10, Deputy Healy and the WUAG will chair two further meetings in Nenagh and in Thurles, with three more to take place in Cahir, Cashel and Killenaule the following week.
“We are continuing to build the Non Payment Campaign right up until St. Patrick’s Day,” said Deputy Healy.
“We had a significant number of people attend the meetings that we held already, we had several hundred in attendance at the Clonmel meeting, about 120 in Carrick-on-Suir and about 70 in Tipperary Town.”
He said that a significant number of people have already signed up to the Non Payment Campaign, although he was not certain of the exact number. He also said that the number of people who have registered to make the payment is very small.
“A total of 1.8 million households are liable to register for the charge but so far only about four per cent have done so. We plan to build the campaign and have a significant number of people by March 31. There will be other local action, but this is a rolling campaign, for now we are just trying to get the meetings sorted out,” said Deputy Healy. He said that a poster campaign will also be commencing and more information about meeting dates and times will be available over the coming week.
Published on Friday 3 February 2012 – The Nationalist
The decision to close Kickham Barracks is totally outrageous and indefensible on any grounds.
Taken together with the closure of St Michaels’ Unit and the transferring of our Acute Psychiatric Beds to Kilkenny by a Labour Minister Kathleen Lynch, the Movement of the Vocational Education Committee from Clonmel and South Tipperary to Nenagh by Labour Minister Alan Kelly and now the closure of Kickham Barracks by Minister Alan Shatter of the Fine Gael party, it is evident that we are clearly under attack by this Labour – Fine Gael Government. We are under siege.
The people of Clonmel fought off Cromwell and we will fight this government of broken promises and pre election promises of fiction.
We are elected to defend our town and the decision to close Kickham Barracks yesterday is an attack on the economic, social and historical wellbeing of this town.
This is a vicious attack on our Soldiers and their families. Our Soldiers and their families in the 12th Battalion are heartbroken by this news, some knowing when going to the Lebanon today that they will not return to their barracks.
For Deputy Tom Hayes to suggest in the media that no one will be out of work, he clearly can’t see that the loss of €9 – €10 million in revenue from the town will bring job losses and business closures. Deputy Hayes is already insensitively talking of plans for Kickham Barracks, this speaks volumes. Only on 10th October 2011 in Hearns Hotel he stated “I’ll fight Alan Shatter, Enda Kenny and anyone you want me too” – yet another promise of fiction to us I fear.
On the same night Mayor Darren Ryan stated he “would do all in his power”, he is the Mayor and first citizen of this town. Is his loyalty to the Labour party or to the people of Clonmel, because the Labour Party has shown it is anything but loyal to the people of this town. You can’t run with the hound and with the hare.
I call that this council insist the government immediately reverse this totally unnecessary and cost ineffective decision.
Signed: Cllr Helena McGee
Workers & Unemployed Action 