Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"—endorses the Government's intention to give statutory effect in a Disability Bill to a range of important policies as they relate to people with disabilities, to establish systems for assessment of need and service provision and to specify infrastructure for policy delivery,

—commends the provision of redress mechanisms in the Bill to support individual service entitlements,

—recognises the value of the Government's broad-ranging consultation process with the disability sector, and

—welcomes the framework being put in place by the Government to underpin the equal participation by people with disabilities in Irish society, including the proposed Disability Bill; the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill 2003, which is currently at Report Stage in the Dáil; the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill; which is being prepared in the Department of Social and Family Affairs in relation to the provision of advocacy services; sectoral plans for key public services; and equality legislation to be updated by the Equality Bill 2004 which is currently at Second Stage in the Dáil.".

I welcome the Minister of State. I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this important issue. In 1997, I made my maiden speech to the House on the same subject. As someone who has worked in the sector for approximately 20 years, I acknowledge the tremendous contribution that Governments have made to disabled persons since 1997, by making resources available and by developing policies to help those with disabilities.

To put the matter in its historical context, the 5th century Brehon Laws identified the following categories as exempt from punishment and exploitation: idiots, dotards, persons without sense and fools. The clans to which such persons belonged were charged with responsibility for ensuring their welfare. Over 1,000 years later in England, Daniel Defoe decided to establish a house for "these fools" as he called them. He proposed the house would be resourced by a tax on authors. For the very first time, this idea promoted institutions catering for disability. Unfortunately, however, what on the face of it appeared to be a kind gesture by Mr. Defoe turned out to be the opposite because he was doing it to protect the public from such people.

To some extent, we are still struggling to this day with elements of those attitudes and perceptions, particularly within the wider ambit of society at large. There is still a stigma attached to being disabled, although thankfully the situation is improving dramatically. Where the disabled are not stigmatised, however, they are certainly patronised. We can imagine how difficult it must be for wheelchair-bound people to deal with patronising attitudes. In some respects, it would not be an exaggeration to say that myths and folk memories are still fostered within communities which look at disabled people in a peculiar way, asking whether they are human, a threat to individuals or society, or a curse on their families.

Thankfully, however, over the past 30 years there has been a revolution in the provision of services for people with disabilities. This turnaround has been spearheaded by a professional workforce catering for the disabled, but there are both positive and negative aspects to it. This is because while the various levels of service requirement are being recognised and attended to, little is being done to change public attitudes to people with disabilities. If anything, the expertise of the professionals has served to promote an opinion that since they are the experts and know what they are doing, ordinary people do not know how to deal with disability.

I read a newspaper article nine months ago which described a couple's experience of having a handicapped child. The couple said the doctor told them: "Take her home. She won't be up to much but she won't cause you any trouble either." If that was the perspective of a professional, then it is no wonder it has taken us so long to approach mainstreaming people with disabilities into society. There is a silly old saying that a couple are blessed with a handicapped child, but people who say that never spent a day with a handicapped child or had to mind a handicapped child 24 hours a day. While it is a gift to have a child of any kind, minding a handicapped child is a 24 hour job and people should not talk about this unless they have experienced it.

The fight back in this area came with the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, which dealt comprehensively with issues affecting those with disabilities. It became the cornerstone of the Government's policy and any fair-minded person looking at what the Progressive Democrats-Fianna Fáil Government has done since 1997 would have to agree that it has put major resources into this area and there have been major benefits for those with disabilities. The Government has significantly advanced the equality agenda and there have been improvements in many areas. We need only look at the legislation which has been introduced — the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill 2003, which is on Report Stage in the Dáil, the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill, the Equality Bill, the Employment Equality Bill, which outlawed discrimination at work, and the Equal Status Bill, which outlined discrimination in the provision of goods, services and accommodation. There are also 3% employment quotas and we were told recently that those are now being met. The Labour Party is excoriating us for what we have not done, but if it is being reasonable, fair and objective, it would have to say we have done a great deal in that time.

Senator O'Meara outlined how one organisation fared in the last seven years, but I can give an example of a school I was dealing with recently. In 1996 it had 113 pupils, 12 teachers, two special needs assistants and no bus escort. Today it has 15 fewer pupils, seven extra teachers, 15 more special needs assistants and 15 bus escorts. That sums up how people with disabilities have been treated by the Government and how they will continue to be treated.