Families of people on waiting lists for mental handicap services had been let down by the Budget, the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped in Ireland said last night.
The national five year plan for the development of mental handicap services, which the Minister of Health had planned to launch in 1996, had not materialised, and they had expected real progress this year, the association said.
"In the Budget, the Minister for Finance announced an extra £10 million for programmes for people with a mental handicap. Considerably more than this would be needed to convince this marginalised group that there is any long term commitment to eliminate waiting lists," it said.
However, the association welcomed initiatives such as the payment of a partial Disability Allowance to a person who is in part time residential care.
The possibility of a 50 per cent increase in Carers Allowance for those caring for more, than one person was also aggressive step, as was the provision of £500,000 to move forward the work of the Commission on the Statas of People with Disabilities, the association said.