| RECOGNISE SCI AS A LONG TERM ILLNESS!! | | | “WE WANT TO WORK”
- help us remove the barriers impeding individuals with a spinal cord injury returning to work post injury.
RECOGNITION AS A LONG TERM ILLNESS:
- One of the biggest barriers is the loss of the full medical card when returning to work, people with a SCI are then means tested in the same way as the general public despite the fact that they need specialized equipment such as wheelchairs, mattress, cushions etc along with day to day medical items. –
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-We need you to help us urge the new government to INCLUDE SCI in the “Long term illness scheme” which is a life-time medical card for a person with a life-time disability. This would help take away a lot of worry and financial pressure on the individual and their families.
-We as an organisation believe it is a saving to the exchequer to allow people to retain their medical card when taking up employment as they then become tax-payers, this in turn means they would also give up their social welfare payments.
THIS IS WHAT FF SAID THE LAST TIME THEY WERE IN OPPOSITION & YET TO DATE NOTHING AS CHANGED:
People with a spinal cord injury have to be recognized as contributors on equal terms as their able-bodied counterparts. Believe it or not this issue was addressed in the Fianna Fail Policy Document on Meeting the Challenges of Equality, 1996
“For example, a spinally injured person qualifies only for the Medical Card and this on the basis of a repeated household means test; this being in spite of the fact that the permanent effects of his/her condition are exactly the same as others who qualify for a non-means tested, non-reassessed long-term Illness Card. This anomaly actively serves to discourage spinally injured people from seeking employment and, as such both encourages dependency and results in increased costs to the state”.
It is time to raise this issue again & bring it to the attention of your local Representatives.
| Lets all raise awareness of this issue together
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