Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. Some Opposition Members have been critical of the debate and the Government's proposals, but it provides us with the opportunity to discuss policy and throw out new ideas and thinking on issues. As a Parliament we need to facilitate new thinking and ideas anyway because without that Ireland will not have the ability to change or reform. That is vitally important if we are to curb the current emigration rate of 1,000 people per week. It is important that under our Constitution the Government is the board of directors of Ireland Inc., and it makes the day-to-day decisions, but decisions on laws and developing and teasing out policy should be the responsibility of the House. At the end of the day, the Dáil holds the cheque book and should hold the Government to account.

On the basis of the debate so far, the Government seems to believe it has a God-given right to be correct on every occasion and that the Opposition is always wrong, and vice versa if one is on the Opposition benches. It is imperative that there be constructive opposition on both sides of this Dáil and that we should all act as catalysts for change. This is not necessarily about controlling power but about controlling the decision-making mechanisms to facilitate change, which will result in the development of an economy and a society that can give people a hand up rather than a hand out. That is the responsibility of all of us and not just the members of the Government.

I would like to put a few constructive ideas to the Minister of State, and I am glad he is present because my first proposal comes within his competence. Currently, approximately one in eight people has a disability. The administration of disability organisations is a hot political topic nowadays. Will the Minister of State consider bringing all the section 38 and 39 organisations, particularly the smaller ones, together in one building? This could be called Ability House and it would significantly reduce the overall administration costs of the organisations. Many publicly owned buildings will become surplus to requirements as we downsize government. The one that springs to mind is Holles Street Hospital. The hospital, along with the two adjoining properties at 65 and 66 Lower Mount Street, would be an ideal location for Ability House to bring all the disability organisations together. It is a wheelchair-accessible building in Dublin city centre and is easily accessible by public transport. The State spends approximately €1.6 billion per annum on the disability sector and hundreds of organisations receive funding. The value for money audit of the sector found that 10% of the funding goes into administration and salaries. While all of that cannot be eliminated, some can be by bringing groups together.

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