Speech by Norma Foley TD, Minister for Children, Disability and Equality.

Good evening. I am very pleased to be joined here by my colleagues James Lawless, the Minister for Further and Higher Education and Michael Moynihan, the Minister of State for Special Education.

This session has a great title: “Empowering people – disability access and opportunity.”

But what does that empowering people with disabilities really mean?

I want to share with you an account from the World Health Organisation report into assistive technology which really moved me.

I should explain for a start that assistive technology is actually all around us. It can include glasses, hearing aids, enlarged print, wheelchairs, toilet and shower chairs, hoists, and pill organisers.

But we tend to think of assistive technology in terms of more advanced gadgets such as prosthetic legs, communications boards, screen readers.

Here is the account in the World Health Organisation report about assistive technology which struck my heart the most. It was from a parent of a child with disabilities and this is what she said.

“I used to wonder in the early days whether I would ever hear those words 'I love you', but I soon forgot about that and focused on supporting her communication. A couple of months ago, on a mundane Tuesday evening, I was doing the washing up when I heard 'I love you', and I looked at her as she pressed it again. I rushed over, kissed her, and told her I loved her too. She pressed 'hug', and we had the best hug. This is what assistive technology can mean to families like ours.”

So what more can I say about that? A hug and an “I love you” transforming the lives of a family and a mother and daughter relationship. That is empowerment of people with disabilities.

Fianna Fáil’s record on disability over the last 100 years

As we in Fianna Fáil celebrate our 100^th anniversary, it is important to look back at our history in relation to disability services. Disability services were historically provided by religious congregations and voluntary organisations.

Over the years, state involvement has grown but there is no doubt that the disability sector has been historically underfunded.

But this government, led by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, is changing that and I will go into more detail about that shortly.

It is important to acknowledge, however, that there were progressive politicians in Fianna Fáil who made important advances in the area of disability services.

Our Taoiseach Micheál Martin created the role of special needs assistants during his time as Minister for Education and there are now over 20,000 of them in our schools. It has been transformative for special education.

Mary Wallace, the former Minister of State for Disability, and John O’Donogue, the former Minister for Justice, set up the National Disability Authority in 2000.

Going further back, David Kilgallon, the author of “Intellectual Disablity and Ireland” described how the Minister for Health James Ryan published detailed plans for the disability allowance in 1952. It addressed ‘cases of persons over 16 years of age who are without means and unable by reason of chronic illness or disability to provide for their own maintenance.” Minister Ryan legislated for this in the 1953 Health Act and the Disabled Persons’ Maintenance Allowance was introduced in 1955 at the rate of £1 a week.

Budget 2026

However, I am proud to say that I did negotiate a record budget of €3.9 billion for disability services in Budget 2026. That is over €600 million more than last year.

It gives us a real chance to implement key commitments in the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which I launched last September. That strategy was drawn up and crafted with disabled people themselves.

Tá sé thar am duinn dul i ngleic leis na deacreachtaí agus na dushlánaí a bhaineann le míchumas.

Tugann an Straitéis Náisiúnta um Chearta an Duine do Dhaoine faoi Mhíchumas an deis dúinn tús nua a chur chun chinn.

Guthanna comhionanna, gníomhartha comhionanna, todhchaí chomhionann."

The Strategy gives us a real roadmap to make improvements in all aspects of the disabled people’s lives. “Equal voices, equal actions, equal futures.”

That is the motto chosen by disabled people themselves for the new strategy.

Ach ní bhíonn bua gan dua. There is no win, no victory without hardship.

As a government, and as a country, we have to be willing to put in the hard work and the commitment required to deliver that brighter future for disabled people, irrespective of challenges.

I will focus on two of key priorities which we are progressing using the additional Budget 2026 funding – Residential Services and Respite Services.

Progress on residential services

I had a meeting earlier this week with a variety of organisations representing disabled people and disability service providers. They told me that the additional funding for disability services in Budget 2026 had stabilized many disability organisations that had previously struggled. Notwithstanding that, we know there is more work to be done in that particular field but it is a very, very positive step foward

These organisations are now looking at bringing forward new services and they have identified numerous sites from their land banks or existing properties that could be used in this regard. The HSE recently put forward a funding call for shovel-ready disability projects from voluntary organisations, at my request.

I am pleased to say that 116 proposals have been submitted in the space of just a few weeks. So we are conscious that the work has to be done. We are determined to do it in coperation with many of these voluntary organisations.

I want to tell you a little bit about the work that we’re doing with the Minister for Housing.

For too long, I think we all agree, disabled people have not been a priority for social and affordable housing. We have know the impact this has. People with disabilities not getting the chance to live independently on their own, and their elderly parents worrying what is going to happen to them once they are no longer around.

We need to provide housing for people with disabilities in every corner of Ireland. We cannot do it within my department alone. That is Minister for Housing James Browne and I have been working really hard to drive this forward.

I am pleased to tell you that this year, for the first time, every council in the country will set targets for delivering social housing for two key groups of disabled people.

The first group is disabled people who are able to live more independently in the community with some supports and the second group is disabled people who need specialist 24/7 wraparound supports.

The housing targets for these disabled people will be contained in the Local Authority Housing Delivery Action Plans 2027-2030. These plans will be published in the coming months. I truly believe that this will be a gamechanger because there will be a pipeline of homes for the people with disabilities who need them most. Councils will supply the homes and my Department, via the HSE, will supply the funding for the staff and services that people with disabilities need to live in these new homes.

I truly want to thank Minister James Browne for his leadership and his personal commitment here. And right from the very beginning, the Taoiseach has identified that no one single department will achieve anything in the name of disability on its own. It has to be a cross-government commitment and this is an example of that cross-government commitment.

Progress on respite services

Budget 2026 contains €25m additional funding for respite expansion, supporting close to 10,000 additional overnight and 25,000 additional day respite sessions.

I will give you a practical example of what this can mean. Last November, I officially opened Enable Ireland’s new Hazeldine respite centre for children and young people on the outskirts of Ennis.

It will provide 1,400 nights of respite care to families across Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary every year – double the 700 that had previously been available.

That is an impressive statistic – but what really moved me was the comment of Janet, a mother whose 18-year-old son Conor has Autism and ADHD. He requires constant supervision so having access to respite in this new service is a real gamechanger for her. She said: “I get one night’s sleep a week where I don’t have to live awake with one eye opened.”

That is one of the best descriptions of the value of respite that I have heard.

That is not all. We are providing more day service places every year for people with complex disabilities. More day services and better quality ones too. Once upon a time, every person in a day service got the same service. When I visit day services now, there are plans up on the walls with each person’s individual programme – for each day. Some people like doing exercise classes. Some like doing art. Some like music. These are the choices that disabled people in disability day services now have. That is what people-centred services should look like, the ability to do what you like the most when you like the most.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is so much more that I could talk about. The Irish EU Presidency which will have a very strong focus on disability. The employment of a new national HSE director for disability and new HSE regional leads for disability. That will be a really important move forward and recruitment is underway. The forthcoming cost of disability payment which is being worked on for Budget 2027. My colleague, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary hosted a very impressive summit on the Cost of Disability this week and there was really powerful engagement with people at that summit.

I know it's a key priority for him going into Budget 2027 So, in conclusion, I really do want to say to you personally and politically, for Fianna Fáil, disability is front and centre. We've made some progress. We have a long journey to go upon, but we are absolutely determined that the work that we will do will ensure that the lives of those with disability will be enhanced in every possible way. Go raibh mile maith agaibh.

. Our journey to deliver real improvements in the lives of people with disabilities is just beginning.

I look forward to hearing the contributions from Minister Lawless and Minister Moynihan and your own questions and observations.

ENDS