Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome the Bill. However, the motion before the House is farcical in the extreme. The motion states that Seanad Éireann, "recognises the ongoing commitment of the Government", and, "congratulates the Government for bringing forward a disability Bill honouring its pledge". How can this be reconciled with the Bill's memorandum that unequivocally states, "... that the Minister will make financial resources available in each year, for the provision of services under the Act. In deciding on the allocation, each Minister will make available such amount as he or she considers appropriate"? The memorandum continues:

Having made such a considered allocation, nothing in the legislation will require him or her, or any public body to which this funding has been allocated, to provide a service which cannot be met out of that allocation.

This is the kernel of the Government's commitment to the Disability Bill. However, it is a repetition of the special educational needs Bill in which all provisions were qualified by funding. If we are dependent on a political decision from the Government, then based on its record of past commitments, the fight is not over for all those groups that have spent year in year out protesting outside the gates of Leinster House.

This Bill is nothing more than a regurgitation of the special educational needs Bill. There are three references in section 6 to the health boards and their respective chief executives. Was there any realisation when drafting the Bill that another Minister has disbanded the health boards, making the work of the chief executives obsolete? Although the boards will remain until the end of December, according to the Minister of State's presentation, there will be no commitment or action on this Bill. The delivery of services will remain inadequate.

It is fine to put promises on paper. However, the acid test will be how these services can be delivered. The Minister of State admitted that there will be a further three to four year wait for trained physiotherapists, speech and occupational therapists, while the waiting lists for their services stand at over 2,000. No matter how efficient the throughput of the universities and other institutions, how can this issue be addressed? All commentators in this area state that time is of the essence in disability care and that early intervention is crucial. How can the Minister of State stand over this motion and the contents of the Disability Bill when there is no indication of any timeframe within which the needs of the public can be met?

While I welcome the Disability Bill, I am fearful that the same lobby groups will have to come back again to drag commitments from the Government. Recently, with much fanfare, the Government pretended all was well as we happily march on. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing in this Bill indicates that anything will happen. I hope that whatever promises are made and, to use the Minister of State's own terms, whatever is deemed appropriate will be delivered. However, nothing in the past indicates that will happen. The ring-fencing of funds means nothing to those people in need. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity at a later date to go through the Bill's specific provisions.