Joan Collins TD -  Right To Personal Assistance Services
Channel: Joan Collins
Date: 21/11/2019

The Right To Personal Assistance Services

I put it to the Government that it should respect and implement the UNCRPD to provide the personal assistance hours that people really need, not the home help hours or a couple of hours here or there, and comply with the article in its entirety and its precise meaning. The only way that can be done is by referring those rights to the HSE and telling them that those rights must be vindicated among citizens with disability.

It was not until I met Dermot Walsh who was a constituent of mine in Walkinstown that I really realised what the allocation of personal assistant hours actually meant to somebody. He was very active in his communit and a full-time disability advocate with Dublin Bus. His personal assistant used to get him into work in the mornings, would drive him in the car and bring him to conferences, including overseas. He had that support every minute of the day and lived independently. That is what I am talking about when I talk about independent living, not home help hours or assistance for a couple of hours a day. 

Full Speech Here: https://joancollins.ie/2019/11/21/joan-collins-td-right-to-personal-assistance-services/