Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment moved by Senator Terry. I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is working extremely hard on this issue. However, this Government has an unenviable record for producing major plans with much fanfare and aplomb only to shelve them gradually. That is why we demand more short-term urgent and political priorities. People with disabilities are always playing catch-up. The cost of living is higher if one has a disability or if a member of one's family has a disability. To its credit the Government has spent large sums of money but unfortunately this has not solved the serious problems for people in this area. Times have been good and from all one hears will continue to improve but that is of little account to those with disabilities. As Senator Terry explained, 60% of households headed by people with disabilities live below the poverty line and unemployment levels among people with disabilities are more than tenfold the level in the general population. The ESRI reports that the economy is growing and will continue to do so. According to the Government there are shortages but no Exchequer surpluses and there must be cutbacks. The State cannot afford to provide these people with accessible housing, respite or residential care. Elderly parents must pray that their disabled children may die before they can trust the State to care for them. Senator Terry said that people with disabilities must know that they are equal and cherished citizens of the State, and the State must prove this.

In summer 2003 we witnessed the opening of the Special Olympics here which was a wonderful occasion. It confirmed that people care and affirmed the "will do and can do" mentality and the supports that exist for those with disabilities. There was great wonderment at the resurrection of the spirit of black pride embodied by Mohammed Ali and Nelson Mandela. It was good to see nostalgia for the ideal of a caring society in Ireland but alas the Special Olympics also embodied tears of anger and frustration that the caring ideal has not been realised. We have a long way to go to achieve that.

At the core of the Special Olympics is a recognition and celebration of people with intellectual disabilities as full members of society but we have not reached that point. While the people clearly want to make a statement on this, the Government does not perfectly represent them. The outrageous Disability Bill and the abandonment of Irish support for a UN charter on the rights of people with disabilities, added to the continuing failure to provide for these people's basic needs, shows up the hypocrisy of disability Bills and of the care the Government says it wishes to provide.

It was a scandal that over two years ago, 677 people with intellectual disabilities were in psychiatric hospitals when there was nothing to suggest that most of them suffered from any mental illness or psychiatric condition. They were dumped in those hospitals because there was nowhere else to go. Research also showed that 10% of intellectually disabled persons, approximately 2,500, receive no State services and, of these, 515 are on waiting lists for day or residential services. That is bad enough especially for the 170 or more people whose disability is moderate, severe or profound but it is even more alarming that 2,265 not only have no services but have no identified requirement for services within the five year period 2002-06.

The Special Olympics flame burned very brightly and instilled a sense of care in the community, and the Minister of State does care. However, the Government has not done enough and people were left out in the cold when that flame was extinguished which was wrong. Spending money on needs is nothing to boast about. We must give these people something fulfilling and real, and I am delighted to endorse and second Senator Terry's amendment.