Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the news that the Minister of State is to make additional changes. I hope the Seanad will hear about them in full detail. It is a pity the Minister of State was not able to state the exact nature of the changes in this House so we could debate their adequacy. Every other change the Minister of State has introduced since this Bill was published has been minimal and has not been rights-based.

On the amendments we are debating, if one begins to legislate on the basis of an incorrect definition of disability, one will find that many people with disabilities will be excluded. Amendment No. 98 seeks to afford to as many people with disabilities as possible the right to make an appeal so they can be included and obtain services as of right.

The current definition of disability in the Bill will exclude people and therefore we have tried to change it to ensure they can appeal the denial of the right to an assessment of need and make a complaint about the content of an assessment or the adequacy of the service statement. The Minister of State is correct that everybody can make an application for an assessment of need but there is no guarantee, once that application is made, that it will not be turned down. I will address the other relevant issues later.

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