Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

This Bill precludes judicial redress and is not rights-based. Such matters are covered in my amendment No. 1, as well as in amendment No. 2 in the names of Deputies Lynch and Finian McGrath. They can elaborate further on that amendment.

It should be noted that the Equality Authority considers that the Disability Bill does not add value to the existing equality legislation. I am addressing such concerns in the amendment before the House. When Ireland signed certain international agreements and the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities issued 400 recommendations in 1996, the Government entered into new obligations relevant to human rights and the equal rights of people with disabilities. I refer, for example, to the Good Friday Agreement, which is important but has been ignored. That Agreement guarantees the adoption in this State of at least equivalent measures to those available in the Six Counties. The Government has not done that, which is another concern I will address at a later stage.

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