Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the sectoral plans. We have reached a significant milestone in our efforts to achieve the full inclusion of people with disabilities in society. Too often and for too long people with disabilities have been marginalised and have suffered serious inequality.

As the Minister of State said, many groups should be congratulated on arriving at this point, particularly the advocates for people with disability who know the business and who have suffered the inequalities we have discussed. They have had a major impact in framing current policy. In addition, the Government should be applauded for tackling this issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, has played a major role and I congratulate him on that. I hope he continues to give this area the same attention he has given it previously as we proceed with the implementation of the sectoral plans. The work on fulfilling the aspirations envisaged in the plans now begins and, hopefully, we will succeed.

The plans are an integral part of the national disability strategy. That further indicates the Government's commitment to the implementation of the strategy. I hope that when the sectoral plans are up and running there will be a major involvement for people with disability in society generally. People will be surprised at the contribution people with disability, when given the chance, can make to society. It is also a historic opportunity for the Government to move the disability debate to a new level and to increase resources significantly, which will be required as we proceed with the strategy.

I understand that within Departments the disability heading will be one of the major considerations when framing their budgetary requirements each year. Heretofore, that was not the case. The disabled sector tended to get what was left when every other area in a Department had been catered for. Now, the disability heading must be part of the budgetary framework of each Department, which will be necessary if the sectoral plans are to mean anything. Hopefully, there will now be a truly integrated system of planning and policy making across all levels that is informed by disability.

If the aspirations in the sectoral plans are to be achieved there must be meaningful changes in the way disability issues are addressed across a range of policy areas. To ensure that happens, the progress of the sectoral plans must be evaluated and monitored carefully. Timeframes and targets must be set and levels of achievement must be monitored. That must happen if the evaluation process is to be meaningful.

Some of the organisations have told Members that they are a little perplexed that the Department of Social and Family Affairs is the only Department to have interlocked its business plan with its statement of strategy. This appears to copperfasten the commitment. People in the organisations believe the Department of Social and Family Affairs has committed itself in a greater way to the process. Perhaps this is something other Departments should examine with a view to finding a way to commit in a real and meaningful manner. I am not suggesting they have not done so but perhaps they could copperfasten it in this statement.

Who is best placed to carry out an audit on these sectoral plans or even the entire strategy? The DLCG and some of the people who brought about the overall success of this had a monitoring role with the Government in the strategy. Senator Terry and others suggested that the Oireachtas committee related to the Departments should monitor the progress annually. That may not be a bad thing, but an independent body may also do it. However, it must be monitored annually because Departments must be brought to account.

Senator Terry asked questions about various elements of the sectors and I support those questions, but today is not the time to ask them. Trial and error should be allowed and the questions she is asking today will have much more relevance in one year's time if certain things have not been achieved. It is to be hoped we will have that opportunity under the system that is to be put in place.

Different Departments cut across each other in many areas and it would concern me if one Department were less enthusiastic about its level of achievement than another. The Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government spring to mind in this respect. We can have the best transport system in the world, but if the environmental issues are not dealt with in tandem with transport issues, problems will arise. We need to see how related programmes fit together. For Departments to work in tandem, it may be necessary for departmental officials, in advance of decision making, to discuss issues that may intertwine. There is no point in finding out that one is in trouble when another is six months ahead in the planning process. Planning together must occur in areas where cross-cultivation exists.

The Government has done tremendous work in education, especially in the age group of four to 18 years. I often deal with special schools and there are very few that have not been dealt with meaningfully. The Government is committed to all the processes that these schools need to carry out their work. Special needs assistants, computers, bus escorts and so on have all been put in place and this is the starting point for any disabled person's education. However, the greatest aspect of a disabled person's independence is his or her ability to hold down a job. That is why I welcome the commitment by the Minister, Deputy Martin, to the development of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disability. Employment, independence and education have a great deal of meaning for people with disability and I will focus my energy on these areas in future.

As a society, we must focus on the ability of each disabled person and we must focus on giving disabled people the confidence they need. Many disabled people lack confidence and it is no wonder. They have been put down for many years and the boosting of their confidence is a major issue. Their abilities must also be utilised to the fullest extent. Creating a more equal labour market is essential and we must look at new and more innovative ways of bringing that about. It requires an appreciation of the wide range of skills that people with disabilities can bring to any workforce. It will require a serious attitude change. We can change many things with resources, but we must change the attitudes of employers towards people with disability. We must create an awareness that people with disabilities have a major contribution to make in the workforce. The Government must provide the necessary incentives in the initial stages to bring that about.

We must also reduce the levels of poverty suffered by people with disabilities. Anecdotal evidence tells us that a major percentage of families headed by a disabled person live in poverty. Senator Hayes pointed out that one can lose benefits if one gets onto a scheme, which is outrageous. There is so little money for people with disabilities, they should not lose out on benefits when they avail of an opportunity to improve themselves.

We should not forget the people who are unable to be mainstreamed and are not yet ready for day care services. I refer to people in sheltered employment workshops. People entered sheltered employment 25 years ago and continue to work in meaningful jobs as far as they are concerned, but there is no pressure on them to produce. They get their disabled payment and they also get a small extra amount of money which is limited because they could lose their benefits.

In 2004, guidelines for sheltered occupational services were published under the abbreviation, SOS. If implemented, they will force the closure of these enterprises and they have perplexed and excited the people working in them. The guidelines basically state that these sheltered workshops can no longer exist and that the people involved must be employed in an enterprise set-up that is self-financing. This is ridiculous because the people involved are non-productive in a sense. They have a job which gives them a meaning but there is no pressure on them. They come into the sheltered employment, they work and they receive a little payment for it. They are very happy in that environment and they are institutionalised in the nicest sense of the word.

These guidelines will force them out of this employment and into a day-activity centre, for which they are not ready because some of them are too young. A day-activity centre is also limited in how it can assist such people. If that does not happen, the guidelines insist that the voluntary organisation that holds them must set up some form of enterprise which is self-financing. I hope these guidelines are seriously examined before they see the light of day.

The needs of people with disabilities have been ignored for too long. We have now begun to tackle these injustices step-by-step. Our objective must be to move this agenda and bring about a situation which matches any other country in the world. We would not be as advanced if it were not for the fantastic contribution of the advocates that came on board and if the Government had not grasped the issue.

I hope we will have many days to rejoice as we see the contribution people with disabilities will now make to our society. It is to be hoped that when employers see the contribution such people can make to business, people with a disability will be unrecognisable, so to speak, in general society.