Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The provision of access to specialist and mainstream public services is the focus of the Bill. The proposed amendments would considerably widen the scope of the Bill to the entire private sector and to private and voluntary bodies to provide services on behalf of the State, or those which are publicly funded. Essentially, the Bill is a positive action measure geared to support participation by people with disabilities in society. It places significant positive obligations on public service providers in this regard. The extension of such obligations to voluntary and private bodies could be viewed as an unreasonable encroachment into service organisations, particularly those run on a commercial basis. These organisations are already obliged to comply with employment equality and equal status legislation, which is of relatively recent origin.

To give an example of such obligations, cinemas and shops will have to retrofit their premises over the next ten years, sports centres will have to present all their literature in accessible forms, irrespective of the cost, and organisations such as the National Women's Council, which is in receipt of State support, will have to ensure that any service it purchased was disability accessible.

This legislation places a significant obligation on public bodies. It will prove costly for the public sector, so it was felt that such a legislative obligation on the private sector or voluntary bodies would be a counter-productive burden. Other areas of the Bill cover the provision by the private and voluntary sectors of disability-friendly services.