Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The Government is committed to the preparation of a disability Bill that will facilitate the participation of people with disabilities in Irish society. The Government's intention to bring forward the Bill was signalled in An Agreed Programme for Government. The programme states:

The Government will complete consultations on the Disability Bill and will bring the amended Bill through the Oireachtas and include provisions for rights of assessment, appeals, provision and enforcement.

The legislation will give statutory effect to a range of important policies as they relate to people with disabilities and will establish systems for assessment of need and service provision as well as specifying the infrastructure for their delivery.

The Government has progressively advanced the disability equality agenda over the past number of years, building on the conclusions of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities in 1996. To date there have been three important phases in the process, the first being the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation and the second being the mainstreaming of service delivery for people with disabilities. The third phase in the process centres on strengthening service delivery and involves the preparation of a broad ranging positive action framework, one element of which is the disability Bill.

To deal with equal opportunities first, Ireland has had strong multi-ground employment equality and equal status legislation since 1998 and 2000 respectively. The legislation is among the most advanced in Europe and predates recent EU directives which can be expected to enhance equality legislation in many European countries. Under the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000, people who are discriminated against on the grounds of disability, or on any one of eight other grounds, have a statutory right of redress. The equality infrastructure, which supports this right, comprises two elements: the Equality Authority, whose role is to work towards the achievement of equality of opportunities and the elimination of discrimination, and the Equality Tribunal, which makes determinations in relation to complaints of discrimination and offers mediation in suitable cases.

The second phase in the process took place in 2000, with the launch by An Taoiseach of a mainstreaming approach to disability service delivery. Mainstreaming, in this context, means the delivery of services for people with disabilities by the public bodies that provide the service for everybody else. The approach replaced a service delivery model that bore the hallmarks of separation and segregation with one that seeks to focus on the integration of services for people with disabilities with the generality of public service provision. The Taoiseach said in 2000:

The providers of basic State services will, from today on, have the concerns of people with disabilities as part of their core work. Disability is no longer an area to be dealt with by someone else. I want today to be seen as the moment when the State played its part in ending the old medical model of disability. Today is a red letter day in the struggle to bring the hopes and aspirations of people with disabilities away from the sidelines and into the mainstream.

Since mainstreaming, for example, employment and vocational training policies for people with disabilities are now formulated as part of general labour market policy, underlining a move to an inclusive economic and social view of disability. FÁS now has policy responsibility for the employment and vocational training of people with disabilities. This is backed up with the availability of income supports to facilitate the transition to employment for people with disabilities. Other mainstream service providers centrally involved in the new arrangements for provision of services to people with disabilities are the health boards, Comhairle and the National Educational Psychological Service. Many of the services they provide were previously delivered on a segregated basis by the former National Rehabilitation Board. The National Disability Authority was established at the same time in 2000 to act as a focal point for disability mainstreaming and to help with the co-ordination and development of disability policy.

The Disability Bill is part of the current phase of development undertaken by Government to facilitate participation by persons with disabilities in Irish society. In an effort to give the disability sector every opportunity to influence policy in the Bill, the Government has established and maintained consultation with it during the preparation of the legislative proposals. In April 2002, an expert consultation team was appointed involving experts in legal, economic and social affairs to oversee the consultation process. The team met with and received the views of stakeholders including the disability legislation consultation group, the social partners, the community and voluntary sector and relevant Departments before completing its task in February 2003.

The disability legislation consultation group is a group representative of people with disabilities, their families, carers and service providers which was brought together by the National Disability Authority to facilitate dialogue at national level, both within the sector and with Government. The disability legislation consultation group presented the document, Equal Citizens — Proposals for Core Elements of Disability Legislation, in February 2003.

Last year, the disability legislation consultation group had meetings with a number of members of the Government, including the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Ministers of State, Deputy O'Dea and Deputy O'Malley. The discussions at these meetings covered such matters as assessment of need; standards; service provision; the need to build capacity in key sectors of the public service so as to allow provision of disability accessible services in a cost effective way; and workable redress mechanisms. That the disability sector has consistent access to consultation at the highest levels is an indication of the importance the Government attaches to bringing forward a comprehensive measure to meet the real needs of people with disabilities.

This year, there have been meetings between officials and the disability legislation consultation group at which it was given an outline of the proposals for legislation. Its views about these proposals were discussed and noted for consideration by the Cabinet Sub-committee on Social Inclusion. At present, contact is continuing between the group and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea.

The question of rights-based legislation is one that has been raised repeatedly in connection with the Bill. Some argue that the legislation must provide access to the courts for the adjudication of individual cases. It has also been forcefully presented that both the needs assessment process and service provision should be free of resource constraints. At one of the meetings with the disability legislation consultation group last year, the Taoiseach commented that a more productive dialogue on rights is possible if there is a recognition of the complexity of the issues and of the relationship between rights and standards.

We need to be aware that a focus on legal rights may not guarantee in practice the results that are often claimed by proponents. It is worth pointing out that a litigation driven approach to services and resource allocation is not a feature of statute based assessment and service delivery systems in other common law countries. The challenge is to put effective policies, institutions and systems in place. It is interesting to look at some comparative research which was published by the Economic and Social Research Institute last year. The research compared the situation in some other countries which, like Ireland, have a legal structure based on common law, namely, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Sweden. The research indicated that, even where a person has a right to assessment of his needs, this does not automatically lead to the provision of all the services involved or having the provision of those services enforced by the courts. We need to bear in mind that the countries surveyed are regarded as among the most advanced in the world both economically and, in some cases, in terms of social policy.

It appears from the ESRI research that each country has pursued a path best suited to its own legal, political and administrative structures. There is no reason Ireland cannot do the same and this is precisely what the Disability Bill and the other measures in the framework are being designed to do.

The disability Bill will give statutory effect to a range of important policies as they relate to people with disabilities, establish systems for assessment of need and service provision and specify infrastructure for policy delivery and redress. The Government is convinced of the importance of effective redress mechanisms if services committed in the Bill are not delivered. Statute-based complaints and appeals structures will be provided. The Government recognises the benefits for people with disabilities of an independent assessment of need. The Bill will legislate for such an assessment and allow for redress. Service delivery decisions of service providers will be subject to appeal and enforcement procedures. However, as is the case with all public services and in other jurisdictions, services will be constrained by available resources. The Bill will address access issues, especially regarding public buildings and services and information for people with disabilities. In addition, sectoral plans will set out a range of actions to make physical infrastructure accessible as well as the enhancement of disability-specific health, social welfare and employment services.

The Bill provides an opportunity to give statutory backing to positive action measures for the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in the public service. Such provision will build on existing employment targets and foster concerted action across the public sector.

A minority of people with disabilities have certain genetic conditions and in recent years concerns have been expressed that the use of genetic testing data for insurance, mortgage and employment purposes may reinforce a cycle of poverty and exclusion. Provisions aimed at enabling people with disabilities to access reasonable insurance cover, for the purpose of house purchase, for instance, something the rest of us take for granted, would be helpful in this area.

The Disability Bill 2001 provided for the establishment of a centre of excellence in universal design to promote and support the adoption of principles in universal design, particularly by the key players who design, plan and construct our environment. Such a centre would respond both to existing Government commitments and to best practice under the e-Europe action plan. With a broad policy base on the lines just described, the disability Bill envisaged by Government could become a powerful catalyst for change for people with disabilities. Other elements of the framework include the Education of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2003 which is awaiting Report Stage in the Dáil; the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill, which will establish advocacy services for people with disabilities and will be published by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs at the same time as the Disability Bill; sectoral plans for key public services; and equality legislation.

I will outline the other elements of the framework. The Education of Persons with Disabilities Bill makes detailed provision for the education of children with special educational needs. The Bill is designed to address children's rights under Article 42 of the Constitution which already entitles each child to free primary education. The Bill establishes the National Council for Special Education and sets out a range of services which must be provided. These services include assessments, individual education plans and support services. There is a process of appeals, including mediation, where needs are not met.

The Comhairle (Amendment) Bill is being prepared in the Department of Social and Family Affairs. It provides for a new service, to be administered by Comhairle, to allow for the assignment of a personal advocate to persons with disabilities who require particular support in accessing social services. The personal advocate will assist, support and represent the person in applying for and obtaining a social service and will help to pursue any right of review or appeal in connection with that service. Comhairle already has statutory responsibility for independent information, advice and advocacy services regarding the broad range of social services and a particular focus on supporting access for people with disabilities. It is particularly significant that Comhairle is also the mainstream service provider in this area and the Bill to be introduced by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs is a clear illustration of the Government's ongoing commitment to a policy of mainstreaming and social inclusion for people with disabilities.

It is intended that outline sectoral plans will be published at the same time as the disability Bill and disability interest groups and mainstream service providers will be consulted before the plans are finalised. The plans will set out a range of actions for disability-specific services and the delivery of accessible transport and environmental infrastructure. The plans are under preparation at present and will over time, through a programme of positive action, help to remove barriers to participation by people with disabilities in our society.

As Senators will be aware, the Equality Bill 2004 is currently on Second Stage in the Dáil. The Bill amends the Employment Equality Act 1998, in accordance with the requirements of an EU directive. The key change regarding employees with disabilities is that the Bill will place a duty on employers to adapt the workplace to facilitate their needs, unless such a measure would impose a disproportionate burden. A particularly important illustration of the continuing progress in promoting the social inclusion of people with disabilities is the EU Eurobarometer survey carried out to assess the impact of the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003. Ireland scored the highest of all European countries in terms of people's awareness of disability issues, including issues such as access to public facilities and, specifically, the rights of people with disabilities to equal treatment. Across a range of questions, Ireland showed an awareness level of around 60% to 80% compared to levels as low as 25% in some other countries. Much of the survey focused on the awareness generated during European Year of People with Disabilities. However, the results obtained when people were questioned specifically on awareness of anti-discrimination laws and the rights of people with disabilities to gain access to employment are of crucial importance. On these issues, Irish respondents showed awareness levels of 78% on anti-discrimination laws and 89% on rights to access employment.

It is fair to conclude that the high levels of awareness in Ireland can be attributed to some extent to the success of the Special Olympics in 2003 and the many projects organised country-wide to celebrate the European Year of People with Disabilities. High levels of awareness are also attributable to the fact that anti-discrimination legislation has been in place in this country since enactment of the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000.

The challenge is to put in place a framework to enhance service delivery to people with disabilities. The framework is broad and includes health, education, employment, advocacy and physical access to buildings and transport, etc. The Government is conscious of the complexity and cross-cutting nature of the issues involved and, in order to support ministerial engagement throughout the process, has referred oversight of the Bill and other elements of the framework to the Cabinet sub-committee on social inclusion. The Government and the Cabinet Sub-committee on Social Inclusion are giving particular attention to the Bill and the views emerging through the consultation process. Contacts with the disability legislation consultation group are being maintained. The Bill is at an advanced stage of preparation and will be published as soon as the Government has completed its work.

Ireland has had a strong record in recent years in the area of disability equality. In equality and mainstream service provision, our administrative and legislative provision compares well with best European practice. This is evidenced by the European Commission's multi-annual action plan which supports legitimate demands for equal rights for people with disabilities, especially in employment.

The action plan also focuses on mainstreaming services for people with disabilities. The Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner has indicated that the major priority for the enlarging European Union should be the implementation of the employment equality directives in all member states. These two key future objectives of the enlarged EU on disability have already been law and practice here for some years.

The awareness of our population about people with disabilities and their right to equality is ahead of other European countries. I have no doubt the proposed disability Bill will again show this country can be among the most progressive states in Europe in establishing a statutory basis for assessment, service provision and the infrastructure required for the effective delivery of these key services.