Mobility allowance cut causes fear of isolation

A LOCAL multiple sclerosis sufferer has spoken about the isolation he fears following the Government’s decision to take away his mobility allowance.

Kevin Barron (54), from Clonskeagh, has suffered from the debilitating condition since 1984 and is wheelchair bound due to his limited mobility.

The former solicitor lives full-time in a nursing home and receives a weekly invalidity pension payment of

?¬193, as well as a monthly mobility allowance of

?¬184.

Mobility allowances and motorised transport grants, which cost the State over e10m a year, provide the severely disabled with help to meet their transport costs.

However, the Government recently decided to discontinue the scheme after it was discovered that qualification for the grants breaches the Equal Status Act.

Kevin pays the HSE

?¬480 a month – about half his income – towards his full-time care at the facility. In turn, the HSE pays the nursing home the full cost of providing care.

Kevin says he uses his mobility allowance so he can occasionally get out of the nursing home to travel into the city centre for social occasions and to meet family and friends.

He describes his life in the day care centre as

“boring

? and

“depressing

? and says he desperately needs to get out from time to time.

However, he now fears that his life may become unbearable as he will not be able to afford these trips due to the mobility allowance being scrapped.

“I’m just desperate,

? he told Southside People.

“Any day I can, I try to get out, to go home, or slip into town, which is where I will go tomorrow and hopefully Saturday as well.

“I have no life here. I get up at 11.30am as I can’t be bothered to get up early because it is so boring. I go to bed at 4pm or so to be in bed in time for

‘The Chase’ [quiz show] on UTV because that is the highlight of the day and then

‘Fair City’ later.

“I used to keep in contact with people by text messages, but I can no longer do that or hold the mobile because of my condition.

?

In addition, Kevin said he uses the Luas to travel into the city centre to meet friends, but he needs to pay taxi fares of between

?¬7 and

?¬10 to get from the nursing home to the Luas stop.

“I won’t be able to afford the taxis anymore because of the loss of the mobility allowance,

? Kevin added.

A spokeswoman for the Disability Federation said:

“This cut will lead to greater isolation of people with disabilities. It goes against the ethos of the National Disability Strategy that this Government has committed to implementing.

?

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said it could not comment on individual cases.

However, she added:

“The decision of Government to end the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant was not taken in an effort to save money. There will be no reduction whatsoever in the scale of funds as a new solution is sought.

“Minister of State Kathleen Lynch has established a project group to review and examine the issues and recommend an appropriate solution within a four month period.

“In seeking a solution, which will address the transport and mobility needs of those who require supports, the Minister of State is concerned about the group of people who are currently benefitting under the schemes.

“The challenge is to find a solution which will best meet these needs within the budget available. However, it must be emphasised that the funding of e10.6 million currently allocated to the schemes will be reinvested in its entirety in the solution or solutions which will be identified by the group.

?