Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. I apologise for running in and out. The difficulty with this place is that everything is on at the same time. I will deal specifically with the NDA and disability. The opening statement is very short but, in fairness, there is a huge amount in it. We all want to have equality legislation that can vindicate rights and provide a buffer and even, as Mr. Collins said, at times ensure that something does not happen. That is all well and good. We would like to have a framework that is perfect and delivers equality across the board but the main issue is resources.

With assessments of need, we know there is a right to have a service delivered within six months but there is not a right to therapy. Very few are getting the service delivered within six months anyway. Dr. Hartney spoke about some of the issues relating to disability rights, some of which are language based but others are a bit more significant. At this point, what in the legislation does she believe needs to be changed to make it more useful from the point of view of vindicating the rights of those with disabilities? The only term we use around here is "transition" from school to employment. The big issue is reasonable accommodation and the question of where exactly somebody draws a reasonable accommodation from an employer or other body, including public services.