Disability Federation of Ireland Pre-Budget Submission 2014

After five years of cumulative, stringent measures, where social inclusion outcomes for people have become less of a priority than financial outcomes, we consider that the time is long overdue to rebalance the Government’s recovery programme. We cannot accept the reduction of the government deficit as a marker of success, when it is at the expense of a damaged social infrastructure, and the creation of further inequalities in society. People with disabilities over the past number of years have been greatly affected by cuts in health services in particular. As many different public bodies, and not the Department of Health alone fund aspects of the social infrastructure that supports people with disabilities, it is essential that the overall, cumulative impact of budget decisions is explicitly considered.