Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have continually spoken about the use of inappropriate language and highlighted the need to change our language when the circumstances are correct. I will continue to do so long after my career in politics ends. Therefore, I agree with everything the Deputy has said.

The Health Services (Amendment) Regulations 1971 use the term "mental handicap". This old-fashioned term is no longer in general usage. It is not an appropriate term to be used nowadays as it offends many people. The contemporary term used in this country now, including by the Department of Health and the HSE, is "intellectual disability". As the Deputy has rightly said, this term is far more significant than anything that he and I, and maybe others in this House, might find when we look through Acts that were commenced over 30 years ago. Indeed, he will appreciate that these regulations were made over four decades ago - in September 1971 - by the then Minister for Health, Erskine Childers, who later became President of Ireland. While it might seem baffling now, it appears that the use of the term "mental handicap" was considered appropriate at that time. I understand that the representative body, Inclusion Ireland, used to be named the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland. I recall the change of name, which happened relatively recently.

I do not believe a person like Erskine Childers would have meant to cause any offence in the making of regulations in 1971, which is a long time ago. Some Deputies in this House were not even born at that stage. With the passage of years, the language used from previous times can appear offensive and inappropriate, even if it was not so in those days. As I have said, "intellectual disability" is the commonly used term in this country now. I agree with the Deputy's view on the term "mental handicap", which is completely old-fashioned and offends many people, especially self-advocates. As the Deputy may be aware, there are other terms used to describe "intellectual disability". However, "intellectual disability" is the most commonly used term internationally and is widely used in medical and teaching circles in Ireland. For example, there is a nursing degree in intellectual disability nursing. There is also a National Institute for Intellectual Disability.

The Department of Health used to have separate units for mental handicap and physical disabilities, but they were merged over ten years ago. Now that the Department adopts a non-diagnosis-specific approach to disabilities, its policies apply to people with all disabilities. It uses the definition of "disability" set out in the Disability Act 2005, which is a far more relevant Act than the 1970 Act. The 2005 Act describes disability in terms of its effects on the individual, rather than in terms of particular types of disability. The national disability strategy and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities take the same approach.

I agree that the terminology used in the 1971 regulations is old-fashioned and offends many people. I think it would be best for acceptable contemporary terminology to be substituted for old-fashioned language when legislation is being revised. I am about to run out of time. We might be able to deal with this matter further in the supplementary part of this debate. I remind the Deputy that a far more impactful Bill, the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013, will come before an Oireachtas committee in May. If I were asked to prioritise legislation, I would say that the Bill in question will have a far more profound effect on our lives as we age. I refer to the lives of those who were born with a disability and those who will acquire a disability during our lifetimes. The Bill in question will change fundamentally how we think and amend all the relevant legislation that has gone before it.

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