Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

During the course of the debate yesterday, the Minister stated that he is happy with the Bill and I would not have expected him to say anything else. The Long Title as it stands confirms what I said yesterday, that this Bill is not about the provision of rights. The Minister said as much in his opening comments today, when he used the phrase "positive action measures".

The hope of everyone, except perhaps the Minister, the Government and departmental officials, was that we would have a Disability Bill that conferred rights on people. That is not what we have before us. The conferral and guarantee of rights is at the heart of amendment No. 1. I have also tabled, thereafter, a series of amendments that follow on from the conferral of rights and explain what they are.

The Minister said there is no justiciable rights legislation for those with disabilities in any other country. In France, disability legislation has been in place since 1973. The French have not gone forward in terms of positive action measures or rights since then because they were not included in the original legislation. We have an opportunity, particularly given our wealth, to draw up legislation that ensures we are ahead of the rest of the world and are setting the standard for others to follow. We should take the lead and set out rights explicitly.

My intention in tabling amendment No. 1 was to change the Long Title to reflect the type of rights-based legislation demanded and deserved by people. This type of legislation was recommended by the disability legislation consultative group, the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority and is required by law under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. I urge the Minister to take the time to examine the wording of amendment No. 1, to accept it and to accept the subsequent amendments that flow from it.

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