Maman Poulet | Clucking away crookedly through media, politics and life

Guest Cluck – I need your help to reform the caring services for those who need them

June 7th, 2011 · Disability, Irish Politics, Social Policy

Today’s guest post is from Joe O’Reilly who is a Fine Gael TD for Cavan/Monaghan.  I will definitely be responding when  I return from holidays and think many of my readers will be interested in what he has to say.

I want to thank Suzy for giving me the space to talk to you about something that matters to me. And I want to thank you for taking the time to listen, and hopefully to respond.

The task of the new Government is tough, but it is one we’ve all volunteered for, so there should be little for us to complain about. I know all too well that over the next five years I will have to cast tough votes, some of which will alienate you, and some of which may give you cause to seek my removal from office. I have been given five years at most to do this job, and I want to make a difference and do some good for people in that time, if I can.

Where I want to start is on our policy towards the elderly and people with disabilities. It is something that deeply concerns me, and if there’s one area where I’d like to make a change, that would be it. I do not pretend to be an expert, and I am eager to learn and to work with people who share my concerns about how the sector is governed in order to provide a better alternative.

As many of you may know, the State spends some two billion Euro annually in payments to around about 600 private sector bodies for services for the disabled. There are very few standards sought in return for this money, and a great many people with disabilities who I come across find the service wanting. My view, to be frank, is that if we’re spending €500 for every man, woman, and child in the country in order to provide these services and they are not delivering for people, the problem must lie in the process and not in the amount of resources allocated. We should be able to care for people on that budget, but we’re failing.

Now, the first thing that strikes me about why we might be failing is that we have failed to put the people we’re caring for at the heart of our policy. There’s been, for too long, a two-track approach by politicians when it comes to spending the people’s money. It’s been about caring for people, but it’s also been about creating jobs and handing people’s lives over to managers in privately run operations.

From an ideological point of view, I start with the premise that a person with a disability should be able to determine as much of their own life as possible. I also start from the instinctive position that the people who love and care for the disabled most of all are their families. I know that is sadly not a universal truth, but as a basic principle I think it is a solid one.

I also believe that institutionalisation should be a last resort, not a first, second, or third option. Unfortunately, our approach has been to divert state resources to private nursing and care homes, where too often doors are shut on people’s lives, and profits are creamed off the top. This is not the mark of a modern, civilised society.

If I had to articulate a simple alternative vision, it would be that most of that 2 billion would be redirected to the disabled themselves by means of a voucher, or even cash, allowing them to choose and pay for their own full time, part time, or occasional carer in the home. Doing so (and this remains an initial idea) would put those people back in charge of their own destiny, instead of leaving them as numbers on a HSE computer. Giving people the choice of where to spend the resources allocated to them should also increase the quality of service and make it more user-responsive, as providers are forced to compete for business. We should also give people the option of using the money to pay a family member to care for them, in order to improve the position of existing carers.

I would also reform carer’s allowance. And I would start by abolishing the means test. People who are successfully cared for in the home do not require the services of a care home, so the more home carers we support, the more money we actually save. Carers should be entitled to our full support, and it should not be conditional on how much land they own or the size of their pension fund. It should be conditional on the love and care they provide. The state should be proactive in encouraging and seeking out and supporting those who can care lovingly for a family member.

That’s a simple vision. I’d like to flesh it out. The purpose of this post is not to impose a vision, but to ask for your assistance in developing one. I have five years to make a difference, and knowing Suzy’s interest in the area, this seemed like a good place to start. I will be taking this message to other fora over the coming six months, and my ultimate aim is a revenue-neutral private member’s bill with cross-party support, and support from people who need the services.

I know that Joan Burton will be a reforming minister for social protection. Though we are in different parties, I believe she is a deeply caring and compassionate person. But no minister can do it all on their own, and I am deeply committed to taking a lead in this area.

Again, I’d like to thank Suzy for the opportunity, as well as to thank you for reading. If you think I’m way off base, please say so. If you think I’m on the right track, please get in touch or leave a comment. Thanks for reading.

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Guest Cluck – We have a voice and we deserve to be heard

June 3rd, 2011 · Disability, Irish Politics

Sarah Fitzgerald blogs on her personal blog and works in the Independent Living Movement. I met her a few years ago and  have kept in touch both on and off line. She took up the offer of a guest post on the blog and I am delighted she did so.

Saturday night was the first DVD night I have had in a long time. My husband was gone out for the night, which meant that I had time to watch The King’s Speech, a film that I have been meaning to watch for some time. I enjoyed it thoroughly, just like I knew I would. Moreover, it reinforced the idea that, regardless of our background or history, people with disabilities have a right to be heard.

Prince Albert (Bertie) had a very important role to assume. Inheriting the role of King by default (his brother was next in line for the throne, but chose to marry a divorced American woman instead), he had no choice but to accept the help of eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Those of us who stammer or who have speech impairments know how difficult Speech Therapy can be. Personally, I remember the endless tongue exercises, the voice exercises, the breathing exercises and the difficulty I had in pronouncing certain sounds.

Heretofore, one’s ability to express themselves orally, in a clear and assertive manner, was directly related to one’s intelligence. Sadly, this misconception is still widespread in 2011. Often, a person with a speech impairment has many interesting things to say, but does not believe that these things will be heard, and thus stays silent.

King George VI learned how to overcome his fear of public speaking. Fear of ridicule and rejection seemed to exacerbate his stammer. He had internalised criticisms made by his father who, in one scene, was almost nagging him to speak slower. (By the way, there is nothing more annoying to a person with any disability than to be told to ‘take our time’; doing so suggests that our disability is problematic and unsettling to others.) However, like Ed Roberts (founder of the Independent Living Movement), the king learned to use his anger to his advantage and, as a result, was able to lead the British people during the Second World War.

Seventy-two years have passed since King George VI’s first wartime speech in 1939, and yet it seems that some of us have not yet found our voices. As Ireland plunges deeper into economic chaos, people with disabilities are in grave danger of becoming invisible. The media is constantly telling us that further cuts to vital services are inevitable. We are told that ‘everybody is in the same boat’, but let’s be honest: people with disabilities have never been seen as equals by the rest of Irish society.

The recession has provided us with the ultimate opportunity to prove how far we’ve come since the Independent Living Movement came to Ireland over twenty years ago. Many of us yearn to be seen as equals in society, yet the media has portrayed us as vulnerable, helpless people with no voices of our own. True, this approach may help us to safeguard funding for vital services; without them many of us could not live independently. Yet speaking publicly about the obstacles that we face in our everyday lives, and reminding the Irish public that we are all equal, may prove a more effective approach.

This recession is not going to end any time soon. The rate of unemployment in Ireland is continuing to rise, and an increasing number of people are struggling to repay debts. Our economic climate understandably has an impact on the way we perceive the world around us, but does this mean that we should not speak out against cutbacks to our services? How do we expect our needs to be accommodated if we don’t vocalise what these needs are? Why are we accepting being labelled as ‘disadvantaged’? We would not be at a disadvantage if our basic needs were being met. Ireland is sinking deeper and deeper into recession: what exactly are we doing to ensure that we stay afloat? And who will save us if we can’t find our voices in time: will we drown in a sea of uncertainty and angst?

In order to be able to speak publicly, King George VI had to let go of all of the negative experiences that impacted on his confidence in the past. We, too, have to let go of the negative attitudes that have led us to believe that we must remain the most vulnerable people in society. Only when we let go of all of this negativity will we be able to stand take our place in Irish society and say, with confidence and gusto, ‘I have a voice.’

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Know your Internet Mogul

May 29th, 2011 · Irish Politics, Social Media

This morning on Marian Finucane’s radio programme there was a discussion on Twitter and the superinjuctions which then went on to the wider area of the internet and privacy and who owns and who is responsible for information that is transmitted.  As is usual on these discussions it does not take long for complete rubbish to be spouted as well as doses of cynicism from Marian herself as if the mainstream media is the bastion of privacy defence.

Poor Minister for Communications and Natural Resources ( and that makes him in charge of t’internet!)  Pat Rabbitte got his Internet gurus mixed up when he referred to ‘Mr. Google, Zuckerberg’.  I thought a helpful guide might be in order so if he ever gets to meet Mr. Google or Mr. Facebook he’ll know who is who.

So Pat Rabbitte – especially for you.

(To the tune of the intro to Resevoir Dogs)

This is Mr. Google Larry Page

This is also Mr. Google his name is Sergey Brin

 

They employ lots of people in Dublin – bought a building off NAMA and all so they did.

 

This is Mr. Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, he was in Dublin last week, played with a hurley that was presented to him (very on trend!)  He has employees here – (important for tax payers and FDI stuff etc.) For bonus points watch The Social Network which covers the early history of Facebook.

 

Now this is Mr. Twitter, Jack Dorsey

 

and that’s Mr. Twitter too, Biz Stone –

There are a few other Mr. Twitters also.  These are people you and Minister Bruton should be talking to about getting to come to Dublin and set up their European HQ. Although Mr. Bruton had not talked to them when Willie O’Dea checked earlier this month.
 

Other internet and computer type people for Minister Rabitte’s cog notes?   Suggestions are most welcome.  Internet Service Provider types? And a topic list? Net Neutrality? What Broadband actually is? Cloud Computing?

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Irish Times Typo of the week

May 27th, 2011 · Irish Politics

Yes it is just a missing space but I thought it made a great new word to describe the position/sulk/puss adopted by the reluctant government TD for Dublin North East.  Soon to be joined by Keaveneyuneasy and O’Riordanuneasy regarding Richard Bruton’s so called solo run on overtime and premium payments covered by JLC’s and ERA’s?  First small coalition party wobble underway, it took almost 3 months.

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Guest posts sought

May 25th, 2011 · Blogging

The time of year is nearly upon me when I head for tapas, vitamin D and some nice cold San Miguel.  Last year I ran a series of guest posts during the course of my holidays and I think it was quite successful.

If you are an organisation with a campaign or an issue you want to raise, a reader, writer, public representative or other blogger who wants to write something on an topic which you think myself or my readers might be interested in maybe you could drop me a line about the proposed post.

My email address is tips@mamanpoulet.com and I look forward to hearing from you!

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