Feargal Quinn (Independent)

It is great that she had such a positive attitude. I am sure the motorist who parked in the disabled space was shamed out of ever doing so again. Any anger he may have felt was surely deflated when the woman in the wheelchair finally returned to her vehicle. A positive development in the retail sector is the inclusion on the packaging of some products of information in braille, most notably those products that might be lethal if ingested, such as cleaning detergents and so on.

There are some indications in the legislation that the correct approach is being taken. Moneys allocated in this area should be seen as an investment rather a cost. We must take a positive attitude in this regard. However, I am not sure the mind-set has changed all that much. In reading the scripts of the Dáil debates on the Bill, I noticed that Deputies concentrated to a significant extent on Parts 1 and 2 and not enough on Part 3.

Senator Norris makes the case for a commissioner of disability whose job is to play a positive role rather than merely solve problems. The function of the Ombudsman is to settle complaints. The advice we have received is that those involved in the disability sector would like to see the appointment of a person who could take a positive role and attitude in safeguarding the rights of those with disabilities. The Irish language commissioner is a good example to the extent that it is a role which allows for a proactive approach in seeking opportunities to promote a particular cause. I accept the Minister of State's point that the Ombudsman can take a strong role in the area of disability. However, the function of that office is primarily to solve problems as they arise rather than to take a proactive and positive approach.

Senator Dardis observed that we have had a national debate on disability which has been ongoing for several years. The views of those concerned have been listened to and progress has been made in many respects. However, there has been no closing of the gap between those who insist on rights-based legislation and those who contend that such is a step too far. It is a classic example of a problem wherein the heart leads in one direction while the head says something different. Nobody lacks sympathy for those with disabilities and nobody would seek to deny them their role as full citizens. However, there is a reasonable concern that an open book should not be left open which allows rights to be established for which the associated costs are inestimable. I understand the difficulty in this regard.

Nobody would deny we have been unduly parsimonious in this respect in the past and that this has too often resulted in unfair discrimination against persons with disabilities. The Government has demonstrated recently — most notably in the relevant allocation in the budget — a recognition that we must do better in this area. The sums envisaged for the future are very generous when compared with what has been spent in the past. The Government and the vast majority of Irish people are convinced that far greater resources must be allocated in the future than has been heretofore to provide for the needs of persons with disabilities.

Important advances have been made and the signs are positive. However, it is necessary to strike a balance in this area because we must not commit ourselves by law to do something which we may be unable to do in the future. I often have disagreements with the mandarins in the Department of Finance but I am inclined to believe they have got the better of the argument in this case. At any given moment, a state has a finite amount of money to spend and a not quite finite list of proposals on which to spend it. Getting the balance right between the two is the job of the Government. This is what we must do in this case in legislation.

One area in which we can do something is in attempting to change minds and attitudes. We must adopt a "can do" approach rather than focussing on solving problems after they have arisen. I have always been impressed by the Oxfam maxim which observes that giving a man a fish will feed him for a day but teaching a man to fish will feed him for life. This is the approach we should take. It is a question of identifying and solving problems rather than considering this only as an issue of costs. In the past, a person with a mental disability was placed in a mental hospital for the remainder of their lives at significant cost to the State. We must find a positive attitude that sees beyond such persons' inability to lead a regular life and attempts to nurture the talents they possess so that they can make a success of their lives.

There are some positive steps in that direction in the legislation. In is in this context that we will consider what improvements can be made on Committee Stage. The Department's position has changed significantly in the last number of years since the original and entirely unsatisfactory Bill was introduced. There are voices crying out to be heard and they have been heard to some degree. However, we can do much more in the future.

Some years ago, a colleague of mine broke his shoulder in a skiing accident in Austria. I accompanied him to the hospital and found that the doctor behaved exactly as Senator Norris described in that he spoke to me rather than to the patient in the wheelchair. The doctor asked me what had happened and, after conferring with Jim, I explained the situation. I then relayed the information that the doctor had decided to test Jim's shoulder. The doctor, after taking hold and shaking Jim's shoulder, asked me if the problem had been ameliorated. Jim at that point asked me why the doctor did not speak to him rather than me. Here was a man with a broken shoulder who, because he sat in a wheelchair, was addressed as if he was also disabled in his mind. We are attempting, by means of the current legislation, to change this mindset. While this Bill will take us a number of steps in this direction, a longer step remains before we can say that people we once called "disabled" are actually "able". We must determine what they are able to do. If such people are nurtured, the country will reap the benefits.