Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I do not know why the Opposition amendment was tabled. There is no need for an amendment to this motion, which Senator Mary Ann O'Brien drafted so effectively. It stands on its own and it should be supported. In the 19 years I have been a Member of this House, I have invariably found that Governments felt they had to introduce amendments which start with "delete all words after". I believe there is hope out there but hope is often in our own hands. We must recognise that individuals who are sometimes cast aside because of disability also have considerable ability if we help them find it.

My company had a policy of employing a number of people who would otherwise not have been employed. It was a joy to see such individuals suddenly succeed. The mother of one young man who was employed to wheel trolleys from the car park approached us to argue that he was capable of doing far more than that. For two years he did nothing but wheel trolleys but he blossomed and grew once he had colleagues who were prepared to help him. His colleagues also blossomed and grew because they saw somebody who was given a task - I think it was the fruit and vegetable department - which he was suddenly able to perform. We can do far more if we trust people.

For the past five years I have been patron of the Irish Association of Supported Employment, in which regard I saw the same thing. We have to spell out to employers that they can do more if they have confidence in people. On one occasion when we were opening a new supermarket, a young woman with one arm was among those who applied for a job. She had a lovely personality and the store manager suggested that she could work at the check out because, whereas in the old days staff had to handle the goods with their left hand and ring up the prices on the cash register with the other, only one hand is needed since the advent of scanning. We employed her and she was so successful that she stayed with us for at least two years before getting a job in a local flower shop which she now manages. It is possible for us to do things but we must have confidence.

Between one in five and one in six people have long-term disabilities, most of which are acquired through the life course rather than present from birth. Many of these individuals have major difficulties performing everyday activities according to the report, Social Portrait of People with Disabilities in Ireland, which was published last year. We can do far more.

This motion deserves our attention. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities aims to shift society's treatment of people with disabilities from a charitable perspective to being based on rights and inclusion. We need to sent that message not only to the Government, but also to the entire nation.