David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

By changing the Title of the Bill, we might help to change its focus onto people with disabilities and not focus on protecting resources, which is what the Minister is interested in, no more or less. I acknowledge that resources are limited and must be protected, and that we must plan ahead and make resources available. However, we must do much more than that.

The be-all and end-all of the Bill seems to be to make sure that people with disabilities have no services and no recourse to rights or the legal mechanisms that are currently available. The Bill restricts them and boxes them in, which is why many people are angry and disillusioned. My amendment tries to bring people back into the equation. It will make no difference to the Bill itself, but it might refocus our thinking on people. There has been too much talk about resources and not enough talk about people. The Bill is concerned with protecting resources in every way.

The sky will not fall in if the Minister of State accepts this amendment and the Four Courts will not take over. However, he will say that it has always been known as the Disability Bill and he will not change it. There are shades of the song that said that flowers are red and green and leaves are green, and that is the way they always have been seen. The Minister of State is showing no imagination or courage. He is being told what to do in every respect and has no authority to make any changes. We are wasting our time debating the issue.

People with disabilities, the end users, who have spent years in so-called consultation with the Government have walked away at the eleventh hour in disgust, despair and disappointment. If the Minister of State had been successful those people would still be involved, debating, discussing and negotiating how a Bill such as this can be put into practice. However, they have been forced to walk away because they were badly let down. None of us in Opposition asked or forced them to walk away; they did so out of pure frustration. Some of the groups still involved are just hanging on, and there are various reasons for that also. The Minister of State has failed in this regard because he has forgotten that the Bill is about people with disabilities who are vulnerable.

This Bill is like The Empire Strikes Back and it is an absolute disgrace. There are belts and braces and bells and whistles to limit services and resources that could be made available to people with disabilities. It is over the top. Admittedly, there is always a need for a section that enables moneys to be spent, and that is included in every other legislation. However, this Bill does not have such a section. It is unique and ground-breaking in that regard. The public is very angry about this, and in every constituency people with disabilities, their families and neighbours know what is happening. They are waiting for this Government to come before them, and this Bill will be top of their agenda because of the way in which they have been treated. I am surprised the lambs at the back of the Government side have not been more vocal. They have all been silent on the matter. It is amazing in this so-called democracy of ours that this is allowed to happen.

I propose to change the Title of the Bill to reflect what it should contain. It should be about people and assessment of services for people with disabilities. There are also miscellaneous provisions.

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