Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

——should not forget that Deputy Mary Wallace put a great deal of work, effort and commitment into the provision through legislation of the rights and services to disabled people which were their just entitlement as human beings. Sadly, she came in for a barrage of criticism, much of which was unjustified and some of which was over the top. I regret that very much and pay special tribute to her. A substantial proportion of the Bill before the House was formulated by Deputy Mary Wallace. The issue of rights was one I debated with her on at least a dozen occasions during her term of office.

It would be remiss of me to fail to compliment the former Minister of State and current Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, who took over the watch and threw himself into the task of wide-ranging consultations. It is regrettable that the consultations, which have not been completely finalised, had not produced a unanimous consensus at the point at which the Bill had to be published. It was no reflection, however, on the commitment, tenacity and determination of Deputy O'Dea who attempted to achieve that consensus.

It should be remembered in the context of rights that every Bill which passes through the House is resource-based and must be. As I said to Deputy Mary Wallace in 2001, to tell one group it can have a Bill which is not resource-based is to provide it with a superior right. A number of groups, especially the Disability Federation of Ireland, have said they do not want a superior right, to which I say "Fair play to you. I know what you want". The current talk about rights-based legislation refers solely and with inescapable logic to superior rights. To give a superior right to one group must be at the expense of others.

The chief executive of the Disability Federation of Ireland, Mr. Dolan, whom I thank for his generous and readily-given briefing, was right when he said the argument should not be about the above, but should focus on the human rights and human needs of people with disabilities to ensure they are met at the earliest possible date. Our focus should be to ensure the yawning gaps created by the indifference of officialdom are closed as quickly as possible.