Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Section 12 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2003 addressed the core issue of whether the Minister for Finance would consent to provide funding. This is a normal legislative provision. Section 5 of this legislation goes further, as it requires the Minister, for the first time, to make sure resources are provided and it is up to each Government to decide on priorities within provision. This is what politics is about. As is being evinced by the white heat of debate on this issue, every Government will be judged on whether it has measured up to that provision, which was included for a reason. Opposition parties may be afraid of being in Government one day and not being able to step up to the mark. It is up to politicians to make those choices and section 5 adequately empowers us to do so. This year the Government will allocate 7% of current expenditure on this sector.

The European Convention on Human Rights was transposed into domestic law in 2003. It contains an anti-discrimination article, which does not include disability as a ground. However, a number of people with disabilities have taken cases to ensure their rights to education, family life and privacy are vindicated. It is wrong to think the legislation contains no rights for people with disabilities. There is a view, which I do not share, that the legislation is not rights-based but legislation must be considered in totality. The Bill, together with the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill, provides people with disabilities with a package that ensures the delivery of services to them.

Not much case law has been generated under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. However, the courts must take cognisance of all legislation. Most case law up to now under that Act has related to crime and detention and not disability. Nevertheless, this legislation is evolving and it will be interesting to see how it is implemented. It will be a much more constructive way of providing rights to people with disabilities.

The overall vision is to provide people with an improved quality of life and to foster inclusion. The legislation provides for an independent assessment, a statement of need, an appeal mechanism and the right to personal advocacy. Sectoral plans will also be prepared, separate to the legislation. Previous speakers have stated the Bill's provisions in the area of transport are inadequate. However, significant improvements have been made but more work is needed. For example, 95% of buses on intercity routes have low floors and are accessible by people with disabilities and 50% of the Dublin Bus fleet is low floor and accessible. These represent major steps forward. In addition, the DART is being enhanced for mobility impaired people. This involves major investment by the Government and accessibility will be improved for everybody.

The requirement that 3% of public sector jobs should be reserved for people with disabilities has been maintained and it is a proactive step. The new full-time employment support scheme will also make a major difference. There was always a grey area where one leaves welfare to take up employment. While there is provision for people with disabilities to take up employment without losing their resources immediately, a number are discriminated against and, therefore, a disability card should be introduced, which would give people entitlements on the basis of the extra costs involved.

A number of interesting groups in my constituency have experienced administrative difficulties. I hope changes to the health boards will make life easier for them in accessing resources. The Bill will be of great assistance to all such groups.

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