Around this time 97 years ago the Easter Rising ended on Moore Street on a warm spring day. When the Rising was over, the seeds of our new republic began to take root. The leaders proclaimed a republic where all the children of the nation would be cherished equally. This proclamation was our first charter of rights.
As we plan the celebrations of the 1916 Rising, we need to ask ourselves what is the true state of our republic? What sort of society have we become? How should we measure how far we have progressed as a nation in those 100 years? These are the big questions that we should address. Our President, Michael D Higgins, recently spoke eloquently about the vision and ideals of the founders of the European Union and raised questions about the effects of austerity on society.
What we need in 2016 is not just the marking of an anniversary but a new sense of what Ireland should be. I, for one, will want to see real lasting legacies, not just passing parades. I would like to see a national debate about the ideals and courage of our founding fathers, the vision they had and the type of society that we want.
2016 also marks another important anniversary. It will be 20 years since the publication of the Report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. This report recognised that people with disabilities and their families were marginalised, discriminated against and not seen as equal citizens. Since then progress has been made. Initiatives have taken place such as the development of the National Disability Strategy, which covers key government departments and public services. This in itself was a milestone in history. However, the progress of the implementation of this strategy has slowed significantly and in some areas we have started to go backwards.
In recent weeks, there has been much commentary about a possible end to austerity in Ireland and across Europe. In a recent speech to the St Vincent de Paul Society, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton spoke of how “we have reached the limits of austerity now”. Unfortunately, an easing of austerity in Ireland is probably still some way away but the light is beginning to glow at the end of a very dark tunnel with the agreement on an EU budget in sight and the recognition that austerity is not the only solution.
In the final leaders’ debate of the general election 2011, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny stated that in the area of social justice and equality, disability and mental health would be his priority. Over the last five years, the resources provided by the State to support people with disabilities have been reduced, each budget reducing one or other funding stream with the cumulative effect having a major impact on people’s lives.
In developing budgets for 2014 onwards, we must remember the mistakes of the past when people with disabilities were separated from society and where the skills and abilities of people with disabilities were not recognised. People with disabilities and their carers must be protected from any further austerity measures as any additional reductions in their quality of life would make things unsustainable and unbearable for many.
In Ireland, we have some of the world’s leading disability organisations which are recognised internationally for their commitment to quality, to continuous improvement and to enabling positive outcomes in people’s lives. Many have been advocating person-centred service delivery for years and it is true to say that social innovation has been led, through the decades, by pioneers in the not-for-profit sector.
Now more than ever, we in the disability sector must display the same determination of our predecessors by working closely together and focusing, with passion, on the needs of people with disabilities and their families in areas such as access, healthcare, welfare, employment, education, housing and transport. We can make a real difference by ensuring disability remains a national priority and that the National Disability Strategy is fully and wholly implemented.
So, we now have just three short years to 2016 when we will celebrate the advances of Irish politics and society. Let us act now, with the same courage and conviction, to fully implement the 20-year-old recommendations of the Commission on Status of People with Disabilities to enable us to cherish all of the children and adults of our nation equally.
Angela Kerins is chief executive of Rehab
