Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate the efforts of Deputy Mary Wallace when she dealt with this matter and brought it so far although for some reason it went no further. I also compliment the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Dea, for launching the national disability strategy last week.

Having listened to the previous speakers, I must question why Fine Gael tabled its amendment. The amendment states that Fine Gael welcomes a programme of action. The question of delays could have been brought up as part of a general discussion and need not have been the subject of an amendment that also welcomes the eventual publication of the Disability Bill and states that the party is concerned about whether adequate resources will be in place to aid its implementation. It was stated that the Minister must budget effectively to respond to the financial demands arising from this Bill. Multi-annual funding will be set out in the Estimates and the budget process. This is the first occasion on which the Government has adopted this approach