This article is from page 16 of the 2008-10-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
A BLISTERING attack has been launched on budget measures which will see disability allowance cut for people aged 16 to 18 and taxes which will increase the cost of disabled peo- ple using a vital link to the world.
The Clare Network of the People With Disability in Ireland pointed out that a disability severely hampers young people in their efforts to get 00 .e
‘This is an outrageous decision that marks a u-turn on disability policy,” said PwDI’s Network Support Of-
ficer Dermot Hayes .
“Rather than cutting away the in- come of the most vulnerable in Irish society the Government should have moved to implement the 12-year-old recommendation of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabili- ties to introduce a Cost of Disability payment, based on the fact that peo- ple with disabilities have higher fuel, transport and general cost of living expenses than the rest of the com- munity.”
He added “The cut is a mean spirit- ed, penny pinching move that should be rescinded.”
Similarly, people with disability are worse affected by the hike in motor fuel prices, he said.
‘The increase in motor tax on all non-electrical cars may adversely af- fect people with disabilities. Those with adapted cars who live independ- ently heavily rely on their vehicles as a means of transport. We would call on the minister to introduce special exemptions from this measure,” he SrHKG
Hayes added that the budget deci- sions “reflects a deep lack of under- standing of the needs of individuals with a disability and their families
and it is in direct contravention of the Government’s promise to protect those most in need,” he said.
On the basis that the minister has said that the Disability Allowance is under review at present, “it makes no sense whatever to cut the allowance before that review is complete,” the PWDI representative said.
He also expressed concern on med- ical cards changes. “If all those over age 70 are going to be means tested then the Government must allay fears and guarantee that there will not be a backlog of people waiting to be tested.