Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I do not intend to restate the statistics provided by Deputy Neville. I fully accept his commitment not only to this area but also to mental health. Not alone has he spoken about this issue through the years when no one else wanted to speak about it but he definitely educated many people with regard to mental health and the topic of suicide.

The National Disability Authority, NDA, conducted surveys of attitudes to persons with disabilities in 2001, 2006 and 2011. The 2006 survey showed marked improvement in the public's attitudes towards people with disabilities, save in relation to those with mental health difficulties. Unfortunately, the NDA's survey completed in 2011 shows a serious deterioration in attitudes towards persons with all types of impairments, although there is some evidence that gains made in 2006 regarding attitudes towards those with mental health issues have been retained. The survey found a general hardening of attitudes towards people with all types of disabilities, whether in schools, the workplace or in community life. Some of the survey findings are truly worrying.

Only 48% of respondents agree that children with sensory impairments should attend the same schools as those without disabilities. This is down from 58% in 2006. Almost a quarter - 24% - of respondents said they would object if a child with mental health difficulties was in the same class as their child. This is up from 21% in 2006. We are meeting somewhere in the middle and attitudes are definitely hardening. Only 62% believe children with physical disabilities should attend the same schools as children without disabilities. A total of 21% would object if a child with intellectual disability or autism was in the same class as their child. This is up significantly from 8% in 2006. Only 37% agree that adults with an intellectual disability or autism should have children if they wish, and this is down very significantly from 64% in 2006. Only 56% agree that people with mental health difficulties have the same right to have sexual relationships as those without disabilities.

The survey also demonstrates that people in general are less comfortable living beside a person with a disability, whether physical, sensory or intellectual, but have most difficulty living beside those with mental health difficulties. All of the statistics will be on the record but at this point I would like to state that regardless of whether people have difficulty living next to a person with a disability, and the survey shows the greatest difficulty is with regard to those with mental health difficulties, it is a fact that people with mental health difficulties live either with us or near us in communities.

We should be grateful the Government is determined to push on with the changes and advances being made not only in mental health but also with regard to people with disabilities. We need to confront these attitudes. We have funded programmes such as See Change, Make a Ripple and other fine campaigns. Advertising on mental health issues has had a profound effect. Funding local groups with regard to the social interaction that needs to take place with people with disabilities and people with mental health difficulties has made a huge difference.

A total of 26% of people with disabilities said people's attitudes posed a barrier to their participation in life activities. This contrasts with only 3% of people without disabilities who reported such attitudinal barriers. One argument constantly made with regard to attitudes is that one cannot legislate for attitudes, and this is true. One cannot legislate to force someone to change his or her attitude. However, as Jack Straw once said, one cannot legislate for attitudes but one can legislate to ensure someone's attitude will not detrimentally affect someone else's, and this is the course we should take. The survey also found that people with disabilities are twice as likely to be socially isolated from family and friends than those without disabilities.

International evidence outlined by the NDA has shown that personal contact and collaboration with people with disabilities on an equal basis is the most successful way to achieve attitudinal change. We have funded SHINE to co-ordinate the two year See Change campaign to promote positive attitudes to those with mental health difficulties. The survey would suggest this has been significantly successful.

We now have the national disability stakeholder group, which is a cross-departmental group at the centre of government. Up to this point its membership was comprised only of service providers and Government agencies. It now has a range of people, including those representing the mental health area, people with physical disabilities and those with life experience of what it is to have a disability. Recently, two people with intellectual disabilities were appointed.

We are pushing out the boat and we are determined that attitudes, legislation and how people live their lives with disabilities will change. However, I agree fully with the Deputy that we have so much more to do.

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