Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. I am sure she is pleased that for the second time in a week she has been described as a doughty fighter but we will leave it at that. I welcome the motion and congratulate those who tabled it. The Minister of State's words were inspirational and the work she has done in this field since assuming this position of responsibility is laudable. I also acknowledge the work of her predecessor, John Moloney. It is interesting from a political perspective and that of politicians making decisions that both the Minister of State and her predecessor came to this portfolio without any particular training or expertise or letters after their names but both of them brought the experience of life, of public representation and of what they saw in their families and communities. I hope the Minister of State will continue in this vein of individual thinking.

It is interesting we are having this debate in the Seanad because we are beginning to debate and reflect on the use of, and necessity for, this House in Irish public life. One of the strengths of this House of the Oireachtas not only for decades but for generations is that it has provided a particular type of neutral debating space whereby people of all views can present their arguments and engage in political dialogue without the us against them or yes or no sort of politics which is sometimes evident in the other House. If the Seanad is to have a future, which I believe it can, one of its roles will have to be advocacy - advocating on behalf of marginalised groups, excluded groups and forgotten groups. This motion asks us to advocate on behalf of the disabled. It is a very broad subject and the Minister of State was right to say we must be careful about language used.

The Minister of State has been given a clear message from all sides of the House that both Houses must see this issue not as one on which there should be a divide between Government and Opposition but as one on which we must all work together for people who, without our support, would be consigned to the margins of society. It is no less important than that.

It is difficult to argue with the motion. The language is modest, moderate and realistic and it recognises the fact that, because of the economic constraints on our society, essential cutbacks are required. I have never seen a motion before the Seanad or the Dáil tabled by the Opposition or by an Independent group which did the Government's bidding by recognising that we live in difficult economic times and that difficult and essential cutbacks may be necessary. I thank the Independent Senators for being so mature in recognising the political and economic space which we are in. I hope we can respond with an equally mature response and by saying there is no difference in our views.

We need to send a strong signal from this House that services provision and advocacy for the disabled are very much at the top of our political agenda. While we do not know our future, we know there are tens of thousands of people who, with a little bit of help and new thinking, can have a real future, can play a role in their families and communities and can live independently, where possible. We are in a new space in regard to services for the disabled in terms of thinking and planning for a future which may not have been contemplated ten or 15 years ago. There have been huge advances from a medical perspective. We must match those medical and social advances with political advances. What the Minister of State said is, hopefully, the beginning of ground-breaking thinking and politics from her, her Department and the Government.

The facts speak for themselves. I refer to the acknowledgement of the €1.5 billion being spent on disability services. The fact the vast majority of that is non-discretionary, as far as the people on whom it is being spent are concerned, must be noted with concern. I was interested in what the Minister of State said about the mental capacity legislation. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality is about to consider it. She raised the interesting issue of language and it is something on which we will reflect at that committee.

The final part of the motion is one on which we need to reflect. It asks the Government, under the departmental leadership of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, to develop effective and appropriate legislative and policy responses across all Departments. That is central. While the Minister of State will play a lead role, her thinking and approach must not begin and end in her Department. It must invade thinking and policy across Departments. This is central to the progress we wish to achieve.

The words of the Minister of State are quite clear and we are at one on this matter. The matter is political but not party political. It requires political leadership, which the Minister of State is willing to provide, but it is not an issue on which there should be a party political divide. The motion is worthy of the most serious consideration by the Oireachtas and Senators are honoured by the opportunity to listen to contributions by the Independent Senators and the Minister of State. We should ensure that in word and in deed, this is acted upon.