Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

—recognises the ongoing commitment of the Government to put a programme of action in place to support and reinforce equal participation in society by people with disabilities;

—congratulates the Government for bringing forward a Disability Bill honouring the pledge in the programme for Government;

—fully supports the recently announced national disability strategy and notes that there are a number of key elements including:

—the Disability Bill 2004;

—the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill 2004;

—six outline sectoral plans; and

—a commitment to a multi-annual investment programme for disability support services;

—commends the Government for the strong equality framework already in place that the strategy will build on including:

—the Employment Equality Act 1998;

—the Equal Status Act 2000;

—the Equality Act 2004;

—the progress that has been made in mainstreaming services for people with disabilities, and

—the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004;

and

—urges the Government to continue to give priority to its overall objective of putting in place the most effective combination of legislation, policies, institutional arrangements and services to support and reinforce equal participation for people with disabilities.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am both happy and sad that we are not welcoming the former Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea. I would like to have had the opportunity to congratulate him on bringing the Disability Bill to fruition after much consultation. On the other hand, I am glad he is not here for the reasons he is not present.

The Disability Bill and its associated strategies are a fine piece of work. The Bill is a significant milestone in the area of disability. It shows the Government's intention not only to put a Disability Bill in place, but to establish a programme of measures to support and reinforce equal opportunities for people with disabilities. It also honours the commitment given in the programme for Government to introduce a Disability Bill. Many other promises have also been delivered.

In the past seven years this and the previous Government have done more in this area than any Government in the past 40 or 50 years. People may say this is because the Government has more money. That may be true but why has the Government more money? It is because the economy is being run more efficiently and more money is being generated to allow such things to be done. It was unique to see the Taoiseach, with so many of his Ministers, launching the Bill. I have never before seen seven or eight Ministers at the launching of a Bill. This confirms the Government's commitment in this regard.

The publication of the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities was a watershed. It was then that a focus was first brought to this area. The report dealt comprehensively with issues which were being faced by families, carers, parents and those with disabilities. For the first time disability was put at the top of a Government's agenda and it has remained there. Any fair-minded person must say that much work has been done in this regard. We came from a long way back and there is a long way to go, but a great deal of work has been done.

It is unfortunate that the needs of families, carers and people with disabilities were ignored for so long by successive Governments while other issues were being pursued which were felt to be more important. It is no wonder that people with disabilities and their families felt so frustrated and distressed about the issue and had to resort to other means to solve their dilemmas.

The challenge that faced the Government which came into office in 1997 was formidable. Major improvements were needed across the spectrum. Some areas needed major expansion and in others there was no service whatsoever. I have worked on the fringes of disability services for much of my life and I am heartened by the Disability Bill. I have no doubt it will receive negative comment. Two years ago a Disability Bill was thrown to the wolves for political reasons. It was beaten to death by certain parties in the Houses. If that Bill had been allowed to proceed I wonder if we would be standing here today putting amendments to it and if a benefit would have been gained from all the good that was in that Bill.

For the first time, people with disabilities and their families can see a way forward. Equal participation will be a reality rather than fiction. The Government has made its commitment and there is no going back on it. The Government is committed to an effective combination of legislation, policies and institutional arrangements for services and support to reinforce the equal participation of people with disabilities in society. For a number of years, they have been wrongly treated. Those responsible for policy and for its delivery and administration seemed to have a notion that people with disabilities did not deserve equal opportunity to face the normal challenges of modern life.

We will now have public policy for the future based on an understanding of disability. The real needs of people with disabilities were not understood. The new strategy is a move away from the medical model to the social model. People with disabilities and their advocates have always been exasperated by the notion that they were medically impaired when most of their problems were social and environmental, as well as medical in some instances.

I welcome the fact that future policy will bring about the enforcement of laws which will protect people with disabilities against discrimination, ensuring the provision of services and support to make inclusion a reality. It will also ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded from education, employment or social activities by virtue of attitudes or procedures which are no longer acceptable.

Independence and self-reliance will be achievable. With the onset of technology people can achieve goals which would once have been frowned on or even laughed at. Expectations and the ability to meet those expectations have changed because of technology. There have been major advances in technological infrastructure and our awareness of what technology can do has also improved dramatically. Communication links have improved, making it possible to assess an individual, almost from his or her home. This eliminates travel and the tiredness and trauma which go with it.

There is greater awareness of disability at national and European level in the mainstreaming of design products. In the design of products the needs of people with disabilities as well as able-bodied people are taken into account. It is now referred to as "design for all". That, too, is a tremendous improvement. I read recently that research carried out on the use of subtitles in television news programmes showed that people in pubs use the subtitles almost as much as people with disabilities. If there is a din in the pub, one cannot hear the news so one uses the subtitles. That is an example of something working in the reverse direction.

I am satisfied that the Government, with this Bill and strategy, is totally focused on and committed to removing the many obstacles that exist for people with disabilities and to giving them a higher and more meaningful quality of life. There has already been significant investment by the Government in provision for disability. Approximately €2.5 billion is now being spent. When one considers that €10 billion is collected in all taxes, including VAT and PAYE, it means that 25% of taxes collected are devoted to disability. That is 7% of gross current public expenditure, a massive amount of money. Whether it is being spent wisely and well is something we must focus on as we move the strategy forward. I believe it is but there is always room for improvement.

Much fine legislation has gone through this House in the past seven years, such as the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2000 and the Equality Act 2004, which amended those two Acts, as well as the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act. They were fine measures but we must ensure they are implemented and that, as a result, people benefit from them. There is no doubt that the key to arresting some of the problems encountered by people with disabilities is solving the problem of unemployment. We need a combination of laws outlawing discrimination to alleviate that problem. I am hopeful that the sectoral plans that will be debated over the next year will refer to this and do what needs to be done. We have shown decent progress in the area of training and in the range of support schemes available through FÁS and so forth. The Disability Bill puts the 3% employment rate on a statutory footing. I welcome that although it is fair to point out that most Departments had achieved or almost achieved that target in recent times. That is welcome. We need to focus on employment and disability. There is still approximately 80% unemployment among the disabled.

In 1997, there were only 100 special resource teachers for children with special needs. Today there are 2,300 in the primary sector alone. The number of special needs assistants, and I have first hand knowledge of this, has increased from approximately 300 to 5,500. The number of special classes has increased from 350 to 500 since 1998 and €8 million is being provided this year for the establishment of a special education council, which will employ 80 special needs organisers. That is badly needed. The special school of whose board of management I am a member had, in 1997, 113 pupils and 12 teachers. Today there are 19. It had no bus escorts and today it has 17 while it had three special needs assistants then and today has 18. That is an example of what is happening. I am referring to just one school but I could refer to many others with which I have been associated or in contact. They can tell a similar story.

The strategy we are discussing today is a tremendous boost for people working in the area of disability. Under the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill there will be an advocacy system in place for the disabled. They have been well able to conduct their own advocacy in recent years because they got their act together in an effective manner and a number of people with disabilities are good advocates. However, the fact that there will be a statutory mechanism in place will ensure that people who are not so articulate will have a system for such advocacy. I look forward to teasing out the provisions of the Disability Bill with the Minister when it comes before the House and I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, and the other Ministers associated with it. Having spoken to a number of people involved in this sector, I am aware that they are looking forward with relish to the legislation.