A/HRC/17/34/Add.2 real concern that these measures will have a major impact on poverty rate among older people. 65. Moreover, many older people will suffer the cumulative effect of several austerity measures, including the introduction of a prescription charge, means-tested access to medical cards, reduction in home-care hours and services, and in day care services. These measures will have a disproportionate impact on older people who depend on these services in order to enjoy a minimum essential standard of living and to remain in their own homes and communities. C. Persons with disabilities 66. A significant number of people with disabilities in Ireland are living in consistent poverty.54 Persons with disabilities face discrimination in the education system and in the labour market. They are significantly under-represented in the labour market and in the achievement of educational qualifications, which constitute significant areas of exclusion, making them especially vulnerable to poverty, particularly due to the other social and financial burdens that they encounter. 67. Poverty and social exclusion among persons with disabilities is an ingrained, structural problem in Ireland, requiring a comprehensive approach from the State. In this regard, the independent expert welcomes the comprehensive approach of Ireland’s National Disability Strategy (NDS), which includes many of the rights and obligations enunciated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. For example, there have been significant developments in special education over the last decade, through enhanced provision, and new structural and legislative frameworks for the delivery of services to pupils with special educational needs. However, further efforts must be made to ensure that the NDS is fully and effectively implemented. In this regard, the independent expert welcomes the commitment in the PGNR to publishing a realistic plan for the implementation of the NDS. 68. The need for a fully implemented comprehensive NDS is particularly pressing in light of the clear threat that Ireland’s budgetary adjustments pose to the human rights of persons with disabilities. The decision to reduce the disability allowance, in conjunction with other budgetary measures that disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable, will have serious consequences for persons with disabilities. Of particular concern are the successive reductions in funding to the community and voluntary sector, which provides nearly 60 per cent of health and personal support services to persons with disabilities.55 69. The Government is urged to heed the advice of the National Disability Authority to establish a statutory framework of standardization and regulation of residential services for persons with disabilities. The independent expert also calls on the Government to meet other commitments in relation to persons with disabilities, including increasing the employment, training and education of persons with disabilities in order to ensure they receive adequate levels of income, as committed to in the NAP Inclusion,56 and developing a Recession Implementation Plan for the NDS in order to ensure its continued delivery. 54 55 56 16 Including 8.8 per cent of people aged 15 years or over with chronic illness or health problem. See SILC 2009, p. 83. Disability Federation of Ireland, Pre-Budget Submission 2011, p. 3. NAP Inclusion, p. 57.