Maurice Hayes (Independent)

I support the call for the Seanad to mark the Special Olympics and I agree that the introduction of the Disability Bill would be an appropriate way of doing so. It is important, in symbolic terms, to stress that the Special Olympics are about more than games; they involve allowing people to express their full potential and encouraging others to develop a consciousness of the needs and dignity of people with disabilities.

On Senator Higgins's point regarding the payment of costs, there is no question but that the court has decided the position and that the tribunal is correct in stating that it cannot award costs until the end of the process. I was involved in such a tribunal in the past. There is nothing to stop the Department undertaking to pay those costs. That would not require any great change in the law. The problem could be solved if the Department was prepared to accept it could award costs because the people involved are central to what is happening.