A prominent disability campaigner and independent Senator has called for a ‘No’ vote in the upcoming ‘carers’ referendum.
Dr Tom Clonan who cares for his son who suffers from scoliosis, wrote on X that the Govt’s wording of the ‘care’ amendment has been very carefully chosen “to Define ‘Care’ as Exclusive Responsibility of ‘The Family’ i.e. Unpaid Carers 98% of Whom are Women & Girls. The Word ‘Strive’ Gives Govt & @HSELive Opt Out & No RIGHTS to #Disabled [1]”.
He added that he was “Voting NO!”
Senator Clonan was responding to a claim by Children’s Minister, Roderic O’Gorman [2], that a yes vote would help secure funding for disability services and carers. Dr Clonan retweeted a comment by children’s rights solicitor, Gareth Noble, who said, “I fear this is absolute nonsense and I really wish they wouldn’t use people who need support to gain [political] support for themselves”.
Senator Clonan has previously said that the ‘care’ amendment is a “Patriarchal Opt-Out” for the State & the HSE [3] as the vast majority of unpaid carers are women. He called instead for the Govt to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD).