Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I thank the Members who have spoken already. I understand more speakers will contribute to the debate. I congratulate my constituency colleague in Limerick, Deputy O'Dea, on two counts; on the painstaking work he has done in introducing this legislation and on his elevation this afternoon, which explains his absence from the House for this debate.

I welcome the recognition in the motion of the Government's ongoing commitment to put in place a suite of measures to underpin the position of people with disabilities in Irish society. This long-standing commitment can be seen in the policy of mainstreaming the provision of public services to people with disabilities, a policy launched by the Taoiseach four years ago on an administrative basis, and which is now being given statutory effect. In terms of legislation the Government's commitment to equality and social inclusion is clearly demonstrated in the strong corpus of equality provisions, which are also acknowledged in the motion before the House.

In honouring its pledge in An Agreed Programme for Government to bring forward a Disability Bill, the Government has also realised a similar commitment made in Sustaining Progress. The drafting of the Disability Bill has required an extensive consultation process due to the cross-cutting and complex nature of the issues involved. This process has been overseen by the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion and had the close involvement of many Departments and representatives from the disability sector. The result of this is the national disability strategy which was recently launched by the Taoiseach.

This important strategy is dedicated to furthering the participation in our community of people with disabilities. It builds on the existing legislative framework for equality and establishes clear rights to assessment, related services and redress measures in the health and education sectors. The Government is committed not just to enacting the Disability Bill but to a sustained and concerted focus on advancing practical measures for people with disabilities. Therefore the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion will continue to be involved, as the various elements of the strategy are put in place.

I am grateful for the explicit support for the Government's strategy contained in the motion and I would like to say a few words about the four main elements of the national disability strategy which are as follows: 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.

Once enacted, the Disability Bill will become a powerful catalyst for change. It recognises the considerable barriers which people with disabilities face on a daily basis and puts on a statutory footing a wide variety of positive action measures to improve fundamentally their position in Irish society. The Bill has been introduced because equal access for people with disabilities is not only about changing attitudes and behaviour but is also a question of providing ongoing support services into the future. The most important parts of the Bill deal with individual health, education and personal social services, infrastructural barriers to access to public services, genetic testing, public service employment and universal design.

Assessments and services are at the heart of the Bill from the perspective of many people with disabilities, their families and carers. Having listened attentively to the views of interest groups, the Government has included in the Bill a right to an independent assessment of need. The assessment process will be administered by assessment officers in the health boards who will have independent statutory functions. Assessments will be undertaken in accordance with standards and without regard to cost or the capacity to provide the services.

Outside of the assessment process, the Bill requires that the decisions of service providers about the delivery of services will be subject to a number of considerations, including eligibility criteria and resource constraints. When the decisions have been taken, the right to the services will be contained in an individual service statement. There will also be a statute-based right of redress if entitlements are not delivered. This includes, ultimately, the enforcement of decisions by the Circuit Court.

Part 3 of the Bill requires public bodies to ensure, over time, that public buildings and services are accessible to people with disabilities. It obliges them to integrate disability service provision with mainstream service provision, as much as possible. The Bill also requires the preparation of sectoral plans in six key sectors. The plans have been published in outline form to enable everyone to see what the total package might entail and to allow for consultation. The partnership approach to developing the plans was discussed in advance with representatives of the disability sector. There are also provisions for complaints procedures and a review by the Ombudsman, in cases in which the level of access required by the legislation or a sectoral plan is not delivered.

The Bill introduces safeguards for the use of genetic data. The safeguards will facilitate access to employment, insurance and mortgages for people who may be affected by genetic conditions. Provision for regulations governing the use of family history information for insurance purposes is also included in the legislation.

The Bill gives a statutory basis for positive action measures in respect of the employment of people with disabilities in the public service. It allows Ministers to specify targets for the employment of people with disabilities in their sector. The existing 3% employment target will apply until Ministers set new targets.

The Bill establishes a centre for excellence in universal design which will be based in the National Disability Authority. Universal design is an important aspect of the new strategy because the centre will foster the design of buildings, products and electronic systems so they can be accessed by everyone, to the greatest extent possible.

The second key element in the strategy is the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill 2004, which was published as part of the strategy by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. The Bill has a particular focus on supporting vulnerable adults as they access mainstream social services. It expands the functions of Comhairle to establish a personal advocacy service. The personal advocate will assist, support and represent vulnerable persons in applying for and obtaining social services. The advocate will also help the person to pursue any right of appeal or review in connection with the service.

Sectoral planning is the third major component of the strategy. Six outline sectoral plans were published by the Ministers for Health and Children, Social and Family Affairs, Transport, the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The plans cover service provision for people with disabilities, measures to facilitate access and planned improvements. As I have already outlined, the Disability Bill 2004 provides a statutory basis for the plans. It provides that Ministers must finalise their plans following consultation and lay them before the Dáil for approval within a year of the commencement of the Act.

I would like to mention some of the detail of two of the sectoral plans, to illustrate how they will impact on service planning and delivery. The health sectoral plan will facilitate the necessary preparatory work to support the implementation of the new assessment and service delivery provisions in the Disability Bill. This includes a strategic review of disability services and measures to maximise access to existing services. It will establish arrangements for co-ordination with the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Social and Family Affairs to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of services.

Access to transport is essential if people with disabilities are to participate in everyday activities. The transport sectoral plan deals with bus, rail and airport services and how and when the considerable progress made to date in this area will be carried forward. It outlines proposed reforms relating to private transport operators, which will be required to comply with accessibility standards. Funding for public transport projects will be given only to those who ensure their services are accessible. All the sectoral plans include complaints mechanisms, as well as arrangements for monitoring and review, which will be key to ensuring their effective implementation.

The emphasis in the strategy and the Disability Bill is to develop services and to put in place the requisite infrastructure in a systematic way. The fourth element of the strategy — a commitment to a multi-annual investment programme for disability support services — will provide the resources to help to achieve our goals. There is already a significant level of investment in disability specific services through a number of Departments. As Senator Kett said, some €2.5 billion is spent each year on services specifically for people with disabilities. The figure does not take account of income support and other services provided through the Department of Social and Family Affairs, or the fact that many people with a disability use or benefit from mainstream public service programmes and services.

In launching the strategy, the Taoiseach gave a commitment to a multi-annual investment programme for disability. In outlining this commitment, he said:

A multi-annual capital investment programme for disability-specific services will be developed within the overall system of five-year, multi-annual capital envelopes that was introduced in budget 2004 ..... These envelopes are to be reviewed and rolled forward by the Minister for Finance in the forthcoming Estimates and budget. Decisions in relation to the investment programme for disability-specific services will be announced as part of that process.

The Taoiseach went on to announce a groundbreaking initiative in service funding. He stated:

At present, current funding to run all Government services is allocated on a year-to-year basis, taking into account existing commitments and expected revenue. The Government has now decided on a new approach to current funding in the case of disability support services. A multi-annual funding package for current expenditure on high priority disability support services will be settled within the Estimates and budget process, which is now getting under way. This is the first time that Government has adopted this approach in the case of current spending on services.

I am delighted that this approach has been adopted for the first time in the case of disabilities. As well as echoing what the Taoiseach said, I add that the commitment to such a unique funding arrangement is a particular mark of the Government's ongoing commitment to people with disabilities.

A central influence in the preparation of the national disability strategy has been the outcome of the consultation process undertaken with interested parties, especially the disability legislation consultation group. In April 2002, the Government established an expert consultation team, which included legal, economic and social policy expertise, to oversee a national consultation process. The team examined proposals from disability groups and met 40 key stakeholders including the consultation group, ICTU, IBEC, the community and voluntary sector and relevant Departments and State agencies.

The consultation group was brought together by the National Disability Authority to facilitate dialogue at national level, within the broader disability sector and with the consultation team. The group engaged in wide-ranging consultations in 2002 and early 2003, after which it presented a document, Equal Citizens — Proposals for Core Elements of Disability Legislation. There are considerable commonalities between the approach taken by the Government and the range of issues proposed in the consultation group's document. Any fair assessment of the Government's strategy would conclude that it forms a serious and comprehensive response to the critical issues identified by the consultation group and others. I am grateful the motion commends the Government's work in putting in place an equality infrastructure that has placed this country not just on a par with our European neighbours, but ahead of many of them.

There has been sustained legislative achievement in this area over the past six or seven years. The Government's clear and consistent commitment to the principle of equality has been shown in the introduction of the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2000 and, more recently, the Equality Act 2004. Those three Acts have played an important part in breaking down barriers to social inclusion in Irish society. In July, the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 marked a major step forward in developing the infrastructure for disability-related service provision and that approach is being broadened and strengthened in the Disability Bill. The approach of the Government has been not only to outlaw discrimination, but to continue to enhance the range of positive support structures which facilitate social inclusion for people with disabilities.

I regard the launch of the national disability strategy as a landmark achievement for people with disabilities in Ireland. The developments which I have outlined clearly demonstrate the priority which the Government is giving to ensuring that we achieve the best possible combination of legislation, policies, institutional arrangements and services. I believe that the strategy will set this country on a new path in quality service provision, equality of access and positive outcomes for people with disabilities.

Senator Terry referred to the problems regarding paramedical specialists and I acknowledge the lack of occupational and speech therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists. However, work is already in train in several universities to increase the output of such specialists. Obviously, it will take three or four years for them to come through the institutions, but the first-years are already there in many of the colleges and much more work is being done on this following the Bacon report. I look forward to many more. The Senator is right that there has been a lack of such experts required to provide services for people with disabilities, but the Government has acknowledged that by providing the places in many of our universities and educational establishments and I look forward to their emerging from the educational sphere in the next few years.

The House can be assured that the Government will continue to give priority to putting in place an effective framework of measures to underpin the participation of people with disabilities in mainstream Irish society. I am confident the motion will be carried. I thank all the speakers once again for their very positive contributions.