Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

The review period, which was discussed at great length on Committee Stage, is still too long. It should begin after a three-year period. Legislation of this magnitude, which covers in great detail how people will live their lives and have services delivered, will require a 12 to 18-month period to review. Amendment No. 32 seeks to provide that a review would commence in year three and, possibly, be completed by year five. This reasonable proposal would ensure that, whatever occurred in the first three years of the operation of the legislation, problems could be rectified more quickly than if one were required to wait for a five-year period to elapse.

Except in the case of public bodies, the delivery and accessing of services is very much time related. While the Minister of State will contend the Bill contains no flaws, we should assume we are not all perfect. The Minister of State may find it hard to believe but it may have a flaw which even the combined brains of the Opposition have failed to identify. In that context, a five-year period is too long for a person to wait for a service to be delivered. Even if the period is amended to three years, it will still be five years before changes can be made as a thorough review will take at least 18 months. Amendment No. 32 would ensure the legislation would be under continuous review, which all ground-breaking legislation on services should be anyway. I do not understand why the Minister of State will not agree to a reasonable amendment which would provide the safety net we all seek. Amendment No. 32 would achieve the aims shared by Government and Opposition.

While the Minister of State has reassured Members and is probably as sick of the matter as I am, I remain unconvinced that the wording of the definition of "disability" will serve to include those people I believe will be excluded. Given the Bill's provisions, if one can carry on a profession, hold a job, participate in cultural and social events and live what most of us would consider to be a normal life, one cannot be included. How could Cearbhall Ó Meadhra, whose example we have constantly used, be determined to be disabled under the current provisions of the Bill?

I was at a meeting yesterday with two people who were very passionate about a document they had produced with which I disagreed. At the end of our discussion, we could still not agree and one of them asked if I could not simply trust them. That is what the Minister of State is asking me to do in this instance. Unfortunately, I cannot as we are dealing with absolutes. If we are operating at the level of detail at which we table amendments to move apostrophes and indefinite articles, it cannot be about trust. Our approach must be based on the content and effect of the Bill's provisions. I have yet to understand how people who clearly have disabilities but participate in society can be recognised under the legislation as people with disabilities.

The definition in the Bill is too narrow and fails to provide for the flexibility we need as human beings. A person with a mobility difficulty may not necessarily be in a wheelchair and may not suffer from the difficulty on a permanent basis. How are people with multiple sclerosis, for example, included under the legislation? While the Minister of State has informed us repeatedly that they are, I cannot understand how the effect is achieved. If such people are included, I should be able to understand how. I do not understand how the Minister of State can read in legislation that they are included when it clearly excludes people.

I reiterate that the amendment to provide for a three-year review period is a sensible proposal. Will the Minister of State do his best to explain how the legislation can include the people its provisions clearly exclude?

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