Inclusion Ireland Review of Political Party Manifestos
General Election 2016
Introduction
People before Profit Alliance are a relatively new political party who contested the General
Election for the first time in 2007 and had 2 TDs elected in 2011 Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan
Collins who later left to join the United Left Alliance.
2011 Manifesto Commitments
In 2011, the PBP ran under the United Left Alliance Banner and they produced a Candidate
pledge and Programme for the 2011 General Election.
That document contained the comment “The ULA supports equality for all and the elimination
of all forms of discrimination based on gender, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation,
disability or age”
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And “We demand proper state funding for a democratically run and secular education system,
free for all from early childhood to university. For more teachers to reduce class sizes and
special needs and language support so the needs of all children are met”
Performance between 2011-2016
In 2014 Boyd Barrett submitted a parliamentary question asking for reassurances that no cuts
would occur to the visiting teacher service for children with hearing or visual impairments.
In 2015 Anna Doyle a Wicklow Candidate released a statement calling on the Government to
amend all legislation to bring it in line with the UN Convention of the rights of Persons with
Disabilities.
Inclusion Ireland ask
PBP Commitment
Advocacy Supports
Access to trained advocates and the systematic
use of Advance Health Directives will be
introduced.
Therapy Supports
Promote alternative treatments and therapies in
place of the current over-reliance on prescription
medication for a range of physical and mental
health challenges.
Improve access to alternatives such as Social
Support, Occupational Therapy, Psychotherapy
and access to art and creative therapies
Access to Early Childhood Education
None
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Inclusive Education Supports
Appropriate counselling and guidance services
and SNA provision for all pupils.
Early intervention should be provided for
those with Special Needs and a reversal of the
15% cut to special needs support.
Teachers and SNAs have a maximum class
contact time of 18 hours per week.
Work towards a maximum of 18:1 ratio at
primary level
Life-long Education & Training
The opportunity to return to education to
develop skills and to learn new skills is
available to all.
Introduce Direct Payments
Provide people with disabilities with the
right to choose the services which best meet
their needs
Recognising the Cost of Disability
None
Assisted Decision-Making Supports
Ensure the right of people with disabilities to
live as an autonomous adult
Disability Hate Crime
Introduce hate crime legislation
Respite Care
None
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Plan and Ringfenced budget for closure of
None
institutions
Ratification of the UN Convention on the
Immediately ratify The United Nations
Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Convention on the Rights of People
with Disabilities (UNCRPD), without change
and alter all relevant legislation in accordance
with the UNCRPD;
Protection and Provision of Personal
None
Assistance
A senior Minister to deliver the employment
None
strategy for persons with a disability
Commentary
The PBP manifesto has a number of wide ranging commitments and a designated ‘Disability’
section. It is welcome that PBP see ‘disability as a societal issue’ and that resources need to be
put in place to enable people with disabilities to promote their human right.
PBP’s first priority is to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
‘without change’ and assuming this means without reservation or declaration this is to be
welcomed.
Other commitments are positive but vague around specifics. A commitment to ‘provide people
with disabilities with the right to choose the services which best meet their needs’ is a welcome
statement but doesn’t address the underlying difficulties involved in this process.
We would welcome the introduction of hate crime, albeit it refers to homophobic attacks in this
document.
While commitments to increased funding and improvements of quality for disability services
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should be broadly welcomed as commitments, they actually represent a very loose
commitment and does not address any of the direct funding, de-institutionalisation or
community supports commitments outlined in Inclusion Ireland’s Manifesto for Community
Inclusion.
Increased funding by itself without reform does not necessarily represent a positive move.
A pupil teacher ratio of 18:1 represents a strong commitment, Inclusion Ireland had asked that
class sizes be reduced.
Other Disability-Related Commitments
Reverse all cuts that people with disability have suffered under consecutive governments.
Universal health service free at the point of delivery
Increase funding for Mental Health and Disability Services
Protect wages and conditions for social care workers
Introduce workable schemes to replace the mobility and transport grants
Implement regulations that ensure all homes are accessible and built in accordance to the
needs of people throughout their lifespan
Provide an accessible community, with good infrastructure which increases the quality of life
for all
Ensure publically owned and funded disability services and oppose privatisation as this will
work against the social model and lead to the reintroduction of a medicalised system.
Improve the quality of services for people with disabilities.
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