John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for sharing time. In 1997, Fianna Fáil committed itself to introducing legislation for people with disabilities. Legislation was published just before the previous general election which contained much that was modern, innovative and radical. While it certainly improved the position of people with disabilities, it attracted a firestorm of criticism and was rightly withdrawn in my view. There were two principal difficulties with the original legislation. There was no independent assessment of needs and there was no right of redress. The withdrawn legislation gave the right to assessment, but it was to be conducted by the very body that would deliver the service. The suspicion was that the assessment would be influenced by the fact that the organisation assessing the needs would ultimately have to bear the cost of delivering them.

The new legislation will provide for an independent assessment of means by the health boards. There will be a body established to ensure that the assessment of needs is genuinely independent. This body will set standards. It will also provide training for those assessing the needs and this is an important step for those in society with disabilities. I want to stress that the system being put in place will be genuinely independent and constantly monitored to ensure its independence. A person living in a particular health service area would not have his or her needs tested by that health service. A body will also be established to ensure that the assessment of needs is genuinely independent. The body will set standards.

It will also provide training for those assessing the needs. This does not mean that specialists such as physiotherapists, child psychologists and so forth will work exclusively on assessing needs. There is already a severe shortage of people with these skills and critics of the Bill would do well to take a long-term view of the issues. With the best will in the world, we cannot train and roll out extra numbers of trained individuals to work in this area overnight.

Another aspect of the Bill that is worthy of praise is the provision for redress. The withdrawn legislation was criticised for not being rights based. The criticism was based on a narrow interpretation of rights based legislation. According to this interpretation, if a person with disabilities does not get what they consider to be the appropriate redress from the State, they should be entitled to go to court and have a judge assess both needs and delivery of service. In practical terms, this would have meant that the amount the State spent each year on disabilities would be decided by judges and the courts.

A significant percentage of overall disability expenditure, therefore, would be swallowed up by legal fees and would not improve the lives of people with disabilities. Furthermore, resources would be allocated by professionals and courts without reference to the Oireachtas or the availability of resources. Disability groups were consulted in the drafting of this Bill, which is a sign of the Government's commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities. However, the Government is unable to write a blank cheque.

I wish to refer to the significant level of investment by the Government in disability specific services across a range of Departments. Currently, €2.5 billion, representing 7% of gross current public expenditure on services, is provided specifically for people with disabilities. This includes health sector services for persons with an intellectual disability or autism, physical or sensory disabilities and mental illness; first and second level special needs education funded through the Department of Education and Science; the specialised training and employment support services provided by FÁS; and the cost of various tax relief schemes and local authority spending to adapt accommodation for people with disabilities. I hope to see more spending by local authorities to ensure that building regulations are enforced properly and that every citizen, able bodied or disabled, has equal access. Our efforts should be concentrated on ensuring that local authority staff get every support from the State to enable them to do their job properly.

The figures I have mentioned do not take account of the income support and other services provided through the Department of Social and Family Affairs or the fact that many people with a disability participate in or benefit from mainstream public service programmes and services. Speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and other similar key services for people with a disability, for example, are provided as part of the mainstream health services. Similarly, improving access to public transport services for persons with mobility and sensory impairment is an integral requirement of all Exchequer funded new investment in buses, rolling stock and station infrastructure.

This year's budget will undoubtedly bring about certain changes but it is the multi-annual funding from 2006 which those working in the sector believe will make a real difference in providing better services. The multi-annual investment programme was designed with the intention of supporting the prioritisation of disability support services over the period 2006-09. The Government has pledged an additional €900 million for spending in those years. I would prefer if it was to run from 2005 to 2009 and I ask the Government to examine this again with a view to bringing that date forward. It would make a huge difference.

Publication of the Bill was accompanied by the announcement of new funding arrangements for capital and current spending on disability support services. In accordance with requests from those in the disability sector, funding is based on a five year multi-annual programme. This is the first time a Government has adopted this approach towards spending on services and it is a positive step. This new approach demonstrates the Government's commitment to funding for disability support services and to implementing the initiatives announced with the publication of this Bill.

Every day can be a challenge for parents of a disabled child and in recent years the voluntary sector has continually campaigned on the issue of respite care. It is critical that parents and carers of the disabled have access to high standard care for their loved ones. The Government has reacted by pledging an additional 4,260 new residential and respite day places by the end of 2009.

This Government has treated this issue with seriousness and responsibility by providing more funding and ensuring that the funding will make a real difference. The Opposition parties had a chance to do the same when they were in Government but they chose not to do so. The Comhairle Bill, the Disability Bill and the accompanying sectoral plans as well as the huge funds allocated to improving services for people with disabilities represent a turning point for this country.

I agree the Disability Bill does not go far enough; I am not so naive not to accept that. However, it is a very good start. It is the best attempt ever at introducing legislation that caters for people with disabilities. We have shown our firm commitment in this area. In particular, the Minister, Deputy Cowen, did so in the recent budget when he announced a €900 million package for the multi-annual programme. That is what will make the difference and it shows where this Fianna Fáil led Government's commitment lies.

I look forward to the implementation of the Bill. I sincerely hope that whatever difficulties remain between people with disabilities and the Government can be resolved for the benefit of everybody.

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