Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

One rarely encounters despair on the doorsteps anymore; one encounters anger, frustration and unhappiness. However, when one encounters the parents of a child with a disability one often then encounters despair. It is in their eyes and in their inability to articulate the depth of anger, depression and despair they experience in caring for a loved one. That despair will be there until there is rights based legislation on the Statute Book.

Those who care for a loved one with a disability are locked into a cycle of care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They are locked by a padlock of dependency. For many, there is no way out of that cycle. We must offer hope to them.

I am all too well aware of the issue of disability as I have a younger sister who has a disability. She has seven siblings and we were able to help with her care so there was not an onus on our parents. Our family was fortunate enough not to be in a poverty cycle when caring for her. She is fortunate enough to live in a Camphill community in County Kilkenny. She is privileged to be there but that should not be the case. It should not be a matter of luck or having a family with resources. It should be a right. That right has been denied to many people in Ireland today. The reality for many is to be institutionalised. The reality for many is poverty. The reality for many is despair.

Why is the Government raising false hopes by saying the legislation will be before the House imminently, in the spring, in the autumn, in the next spring and now perhaps in the summer. Why raise those false hopes for so many people? Why is there a sliding date for the publication of the legislation? Why is there no financial commitment? If strong legislation is to be enacted, why is Deputy McCreevy, the Minister for Finance, not putting the money aside to ensure the legislation will have some clout and weight?

My colleague spoke of references to prohibitive expenses by the Department of Finance. Why is it that after the lull in the Celtic tiger economy, it is the least well-off in society who are deemed to be those who will have to wait a little longer? There should be different priorities in 21st century Ireland.

Why did Deputy Kirk have the audacity to say last week at the Disability Federation of Ireland conference in Croke Park that there should not be rights because of the danger of clogging up the courts? He said that at a gathering of carers of people with a disability.

The Green Party asks the Government to introduce strong legislation to ensure that people do not take recourse to the courts, to ensure that people are given the rights that have been denied them for so long. For years voluntary bodies and community networks have been doing Trojan work in the area of disability. I am humbled by their commitment, determination and progress. Unless that legislation enshrines those rights in law, that legislation is empty and seriously deficient.

Article 1 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states in Articles 11, 12 and 13, that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing; the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the right to education. It is difficult to believe that Ireland, as a signatory to this convention, has failed its most vulnerable citizens by not ensuring their access to all those rights.

The disability allowance is currently one third the average industrial wage and I question that standard of living. I agree with the recommendations that disability allowance should be benchmarked at 50% of the average industrial wage, which would amount to a payment of more than €250 per week. Many people are subsisting on one third of that sum. According to the ESRI, more than half of all households headed by an ill or disabled person are living at or below the 60% poverty line. Just because a person is disabled does not mean he eats less, wants less desirable things, or uses less heat than others. The Government must believe this is the case because why else would it provide an allowance for persons with disabilities that is less than one third the average industrial wage?

The issue of housing must be addressed. New buildings must be fully accessible and prepared for a lifetime of living. I am not convinced that enough attention is being paid to those considerations. I am not convinced that enough attention is being paid to the issue of enforcement, to ensure that buildings are being built which are truly accessible to people with disabilities. On the question of retrofitting and making existing buildings accessible to those with disabilities, some local authorities have ceased to accept applications for the disability grant. Why would a Government put its signature to a convention that promotes these very basic requirements and yet deny people access to those rights? A house which cannot be accessed and is not prepared for one's needs is not truly a home.

Whether it be education, housing, an adequate standard of living or health, two vital ingredients are required to ensure that people with disabilities can meet their needs: they are funding and support. That commitment is required from Government.

Collective responsibility is required from all Departments to ensure that people with disabilities are fully supported in all aspects of life. A centralised records system to link health and education is required to ensure information is available on the needs of people with disabilities. There are no available statistics on the number of child carers in Ireland. A comparative study of practices, resources and support mechanisms in other countries is required.

I pay tribute to the disability legislation consultation group. It has provided a list of priorities and a blueprint for what is required in the legislation. I call on the Government to act without delay and not to make empty promises about legislation being imminent, in the spring, next month, early in the next session. I ask the Government to put the funding and legislation in place to ensure that those with disabilities are recognised as human beings with the rights due to any citizen in Irish society.

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