Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

I thank Deputy Lynch for her sentiments and understand where she is coming from. Just because one has a sticker saying "Disabled" on one's car does not mean one is in a separate category. The system I propose works in the same way. It is a means of ensuring that people will not have to undergo repeated medical examinations.

Since I started talking about this scheme, I spoke to a number of people, including paediatricians, who would greatly welcome it. They feel it would be very useful because they recognise the great difficulty and hardship involved for those disabled people who must undergo repeated medical eligibility assessments, particularly children with a disability such as Down's syndrome. These repeated examinations are carried out not only at a cost to the State but also at a cost to the children's parents in that they must pay for adequate public transport to travel to the place of assessment. They also incur the cost of having to take time off work. There is also a human cost associated with having to go through this rigmarole repeatedly. They go through it only for the authorities to decide yet again that their child is indeed disabled. It is a case of the doubting Thomases of Government refusing to believe that individuals have needs and putting them through the hoops repeatedly to discover whether they should be given taxpayers' money — it is not even the Government's money — to avail of services they require such that the very best can be done for them in this society through which we are all just passing. Why must it be proven time and again that they require the services identified for them?

The Tánaiste has said my proposal is a good idea and that it would be fair. I have listened to what the Minister of State and others have said but I do not agree that my proposal could not be achieved at the stroke of a pen. It would make life so much easier for disabled people. I am sorry the Government is not taking this opportunity to establish the scheme I propose.

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