Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

I ask the Minister of State to note that I am not speaking for myself, as I have had much consultation with various bodies. So many people are doing such great work that he must take it into consideration.

I refer to Gorey Centre for Independent Living Limited. Its members stated that, though the Taoiseach said that the Disability Bill 2004 would be the best disability legislation in Europe a number of weeks before it was published on 21 September, it is a load of rubbish. Think of this statement coming from those who work with people with disabilities. They said that, for some time, people with disabilities have been calling for a rights-based Bill but instead were given one that was resource-based. One of the only rights in this Bill is what they claim is the "right to know what you already know". It brings disabled persons no closer to the services they need and want. Currently, if resources are not available, one can be refused a service even if it is needed. The same situation will occur with this Bill.

This is not right. If their appraisal is correct, it is a waste of time to pass this legislation as it will change nothing for them. Accordingly, the centre's members state that under this Bill the requirement that public buildings be accessible to people with disabilities will not come into effect until 2015. Think about that. The Bill seems to be based on the medical mode of disability rather than the social needs of disability.

The assessment of the needs of people with disabilities will be conducted by individuals in the Health Service Executive, as was stated previously. Any appeal will be conducted by individuals from the HSE. In essence, it will appeal its own decision. This is not an independent assessment of needs. The assessment should be conducted by a neutral body outside the Department of Health and Children and the HSE, such as FÁS, and given to the HSE as a statement of needs. If it is appealed, the appeal should be undertaken by an independent organisation. That must be done to give a proper assessment of the needs. The Office of the Director of Equality Investigations is the HSE's main source for these services. The matter should be referred to the Health Service Executive but as it is centered in Dublin, it is out of touch with local needs. I shudder to think of the service that will be provided in the future.

The Cork Centre for Independent Living Limited wrote to me about the national disability strategy and to express its deep concern about the disability legislation as currently proposed. It stated:

We welcome the recent Government announcement of an €894 million multiannual funding package, which will go some way in addressing the historic underfunding of services and supports for people with disabilities. This is an unprecedented and welcome development by Government. While this funding is an important and significant development it is only part of the solution. We believe that, if people with disabilities are to become truly equal citizens in Ireland, this can only be achieved through legislation that ensures, promotes and enforces their status as equal citizens.

In Ireland, people with disabilities have the same rights as everybody else. What we need is to be able to exercise those rights. If the Bill is adapted to provide for specialist services and secure the inclusion of people with disabilities in public policies and services it will vindicate in legislation these rights. People with disabilities will have become equal citizens in Irish society.

That is what this is and what the Bill should be all about. These questions should not have to be raised.

The organisation went on to state:

In our opinion, the Disability Bill, as it stands, falls well short of the commitments given by this Government. In 1997 our current Taoiseach and Tánaiste made a commitment, in the Programme for Government, 'to ensuring that disability is placed where it belongs, on the agenda of every Government Department and public body'. They further stated that: 'our policy is based on the core principles of promoting empowerment through appropriate, accessible and responsive services'.

That does not appear to be happening in this Bill.

The organisation further stated:

We welcome these statements and commitments, however they have not been incorporated into the legislation as currently proposed. [We have the evidence of that before us.] The Bill, as produced, fails to meet the expectations of stated Government policy in two key areas, firstly, the way in which it addresses the specialist service needs of people with disabilities, and secondly, the manner in which it addresses the responsibility on public service policy, planning and delivery to include people with disabilities as equal members of the public. Ensuring that people with disabilities have the specialist support services they need is half the job done. Society must be able to fully include them.

Surely, that is what this Bill is all about, but it falls very much short of that.

The organisation also stated: "Therefore the Bill requires major reconsideration and amendment if it is to vindicate the rights of people with disabilities and to bring the needs of those members of the public who have disabilities into the centre of public policy and service delivery." I quote this letter so the Minister of State will note the points made and make the necessary amendments to this legislation. The Cork Centre for Independent Living looks forward to hearing from the Minister of State and I will also reply to those people. I have had consultations with groups previously.

I come to my own area of north Cork. The Minister of State might have heard of Annes Grove in the Castletownroche area which is a great centre of excellence. I wish to quote from a letter from Patrick Annesley, the person in charge of that section of disability. It has done much with Clúid to provide accommodation in certain areas of north Cork. An accommodation unit will be provided at St. Patrick's in Fermoy shortly and there is one in Mallow. The letter states:

Things are less good elsewhere, however, and so I am also writing to ask for your help in addressing the national deficit, by way of an amendment to the Disability Bill currently before the Oireachtas. The Disability Legislation Consultation Group has identified ten fundamental flaws in the Bill as it stands, and I am listing and enclosing these on a separate sheet. While we would welcome your support on any or all of these issues, I am asking you personally to address two specific points. [The previous speaker referred to the points stated by Mr. Annesley in this regard.]

1. Access to housing and the provision of appropriate levels of supported accommodation are of paramount importance in combating and mitigating mental ill-health, as in other areas of disability. At present there is no coherent policy for meeting accommodation needs, and the Bill fails to address this deficiency.

The Bill should impose a duty on the Department of Health and Children, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive, to assess and quantify present and future accommodation needs. The Bill should also impose on the Department of the Environment a duty to work with the Department of Health and Children, Local Government and other appropriate statutory and non-statutory agencies to provide the accommodation to meet those needs.

Unless this is done now, it is likely that accommodation needs will in many areas continue to be met, at best, haphazardly and often not at all.

I am therefore asking you to seek to amend the Bill.

I am using this opportunity to ask the Minister of State to note what has been said and to amend the Bill.

The letter goes on to state:

2. For many people, mental health difficulties are long-term or recurrent but acute illness is intermittent or episodic. The level of disability experienced in such episodes may be extreme and even life-threatening.

It is unjust that episodic disability is at risk of being excluded from the provisions of the Bill. It would be intolerable if a person could access services under the Bill only if he/she had already received a diagnosis of chronic disability. In any individual case, even if a clinician comes to believe that such a diagnosis could be justified, he may equally believe that, in the patient's best interest, such a diagnosis should not be given at that time, if ever.

Therefore, I am asking you to seek to have the Bill amended.

Great work is being done by people in every parish. These people have made the effort to put in writing their observations, contentions and objections to much of the Bill. The Disability Bill has been awaited for many years. I hope the Minister of State will take these points into consideration. The great, voluntary effort by people must be recognised by this Government. I look forward to Committee and Report Stages of the Bill and hope amendments will be made by the Government to make it easy to implement. That is what people with disabilities need. I will back any case made in support of people with disabilities.

See this speech in context