Joe Callanan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill and congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, for the good work he has done on it. The Bill builds on the groundswell of public opinion towards disabilities that manifested itself in the participation of members of the public when the Special Olympics was held in Ireland in June 2003. We must re-examine our environment and try to make a society that incorporates disability access to all new buildings, parks and play areas. We must move away from the mentality that just because a public building has a wheelchair accessible toilet that we have done our bit. For far too long the disabled have suffered from the indignity of having access to our public buildings through a back door or along a ramp attached to the side of the main entrance. The Bill will help to transform that mentality and will widen doors for wheelchairs so that entrances to buildings will be accessible to all.

Everyone craves independent living. It is regrettable that it is only now that we are seeking to enshrine the rights of the disabled. However, we must look forward rather than back. The Bill heralds a new beginning for the disabled in Ireland. I hope it will be a cornerstone in building a country that is truly independent and enshrines the right to independent living for all.

In a technology-driven society and economy such as ours and particularly due to the great advances in the biotechnology industry, it is crucial that we as a Government seek to develop sustainable long-term employment for people with disabilities. This will be a long-term project requiring great investment by educational institutes as well as employers in general. Special emphasis must be placed on innovation for the disabled as well as providing technology that would make life easier for the disabled. In doing so we should encourage employment and boost industry.

I congratulate the Galway County Association and the Brothers of Charity for their great work in providing services for people with special needs in County Galway. There is currently a great need for an activation centre for 15 young people aged over-18 in Ballinasloe. These teenagers have finished their course in a resource centre that caters for young people up to the age of 18 years and they do not have anywhere to go to continue to develop their skills. I ask the Minister to intervene and provide funding for the project and provide a site through the Health Service Executive on St. Brigid's Hospital land.

The Irish Wheelchair Association's centre in Tuam is providing a great service but it has ongoing problems with funding personal assistants and providing in-home services. Most personal assistants are FÁS employees and the system does not allow for the same people to remain in the job for more than three years. This causes a great deal of stress to clients who are in need of assistance and who have to bond again with new assistants.

The Bill is a positive action measure that includes several important rights: a right to an independent assessment of health and educational needs to be undertaken without regard to cost or capacity to supply the services; a right to a related service statement setting out the services that can be provided within the resources available to the health or educational service provider; a right to redress through an independent complaints and appeals mechanism, including ultimately enforcement of decisions through the Circuit Court. This structure gives statute-based systems for assessment, service statements, redress and enforcement.

Of particular notice is the fact that people seeking services must be allowed to give their input to the assessment process. Special liaison officers will be appointed who will help communicate between individuals and the relevant public bodies. The redress system is similar to those applying for planning permission, employment, equality and social welfare matters.

The Comhairle Bill introduces personal advocacy for vulnerable people with disabilities who may need assistance in accessing social services. The plans are published in outline form with the Bill and will be the subject of consultation with interested parties before they are finalised. This gives details of services as they relate to people with disabilities and points to the future developments that will facilitate co-ordination of actions across sectors and will involve people with disabilities in the process. There will be plans for six Departments: Health and Children, Social and Family Affairs, Transport, Environment, Heritage and Local Government,Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The Taoiseach has committed the Government to a multi-annual capital and current investment programme in the forthcoming Estimates and budget. Already the Government has spent approximately €2.5 billion on disability support services, including welfare payments, in 2004. This is about 7% of gross current expenditure on the service across the sector. It is important that all moneys go to the people with disabilities and are not spent in courts, proving cases. An independent appeals officer, somebody with no ties to the health boards, should be appointed. I ask the Minister to consider this, perhaps on Committee Stage. Provision of an appeals officer is critical for any modern assessment system. It provides for a necessary series of checks and balances and is crucial for public confidence in the new measures being introduced. Provision of an independent appeals person would provide openness and transparency to the system, for assessment and service statements.

The Bill will bring about the dawning of a new age. All children born with disabilities will now have the types of opportunities that were denied to previous generations. This can become a society that not only engenders equality, but which in time may be a role model for Europe. With so many advances in construction and technology within the economy, by bringing forward this legislation I hope the changes will make us leaders in this area for the future, as regards providing conditions that allow people with disabilities to live independently. Provision of services should take into account at all times the special position the family holds in Ireland. All provision of services must recognise that the first provider of care, in most instances, is the family. Often families make enormous sacrifices to ensure independent lives for their disabled. State agencies therefore need to ensure they are extra sensitive towards the needs of the families of the disabled.

I welcome the Bill, overall, because it gives people the resources and opportunities they need to live life with dignity and have access to quality public services that underpin life's changes and experience. Every parent in this position, on getting older, asks who is going to care for his or her son or daughter with a disability. We can now assure them that the State will cater for them. I welcome the Bill.

See this speech in context