Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Minister of State. Unfortunately I could not get out of a prior commitment this afternoon that was ahead of the motion being tabled. I welcome to Seanad Éireann the people from the Centre for Independent Living, whom I met today, and some of the other people who have been key campaigners in the disability area, in particular Mr. John Dolan. When I arrived in my office in Leinster House this morning I received two manifestos, one for the European Parliament elections and one for the local government elections. While I have not yet read them yet, I have no doubt that the content is super. I encourage all Oireachtas Members to take due note of the manifesto from the Disability Federation of Ireland.

I commend the Labour Party Senators on tabling this extremely important motion.

We are more than three years in government and there is an expectation that things should be moving a little bit quicker than they are. This is not down to our good friend, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who, unfortunately, is dealing with a system that is extremely cumbersome and it takes time to change it. As a matter of fact, if the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, was not at the helm in the Department of Justice and Equality and in the Department of Health, progress would be a lot slower. We need to look at the glass as being half full but it is very easy to look at it as being half empty; it should be full, not empty. In my view, at this stage in government we should have ratified the convention on the rights of people with disabilities but we have not. All we can do is make sure it happens and I have no doubt that it will happen.
At this point it is appropriate to acknowledge the contribution and commitment of former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, in this regard. What seems to have gone missing from the public discourse about the former Minister is the fact that he was an extremely liberal Minister, a Minister who was committed to equal rights for everyone and equal rights for people with disabilities. I have had numerous conversations with him in which he spoke passionately about his belief that we should want to live in a society of zero barriers, where everybody could play to his or her full strengths. That is what we are discussing in this motion. The concept of a personal assistant is to ensure that people can participate in what is a democratic society to their fullest potential. It is to ensure that people can do day-day-day activities such as going on a bus with their peers and attend school and college with their peers and where they can play to their strengths; where having a disability does not affect their ability; and where they can be in a situation where they are not compromised or not at a disadvantage to their peers. Nobody wants any advantages over any other citizen in society. All people with disabilities want is a level playing pitch. When a level playing pitch exists, then people can play to their strengths and can reach their potential.
When I was in college in UCD back in the 1990s, the whole concept of independent living and the Centres for Independent Living was formulating. It was a fantastic concept. The breaking down of barriers was endless. The opportunity arising from this concept becoming a reality was phenomenal. More than 20 years later it has achieved a lot but it could achieve a lot more if it received the type of engagement, support and recognition that the document sitting on the shelves of the Department of Health and which has been signed up to by all stakeholders, were published and was to become the policy and the standard-bearer. It has the imprimaturof all the various organisations and stakeholders such as the Centres for Independent Living and crucially, the HSE.
I call for that document to be published and to become the bible of moving forward with the Centres for Independent Living and the personal assistants throughout the country who do a phenomenal job. As Senator Mary Ann O'Brien said, it would cost the country a lot more if the PA structure did not exist. It has so much more potential to create the type of equal society that we all talk about.
I refer to what Senator O'Brien said about medical cards. To be honest, the discretionary medical card issue has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. I do not think any fair-minded person would defend it. It is up to the Government to resolve the issue as a matter of urgency. I echo her suggestion about the Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, having a word with the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly. I have already had a word with him on this important issue. Those types of scenarios should not happen and they are indefensible.
This motion is to be commended. Seanad Éireann should be holding the Government to account on issues such as this. The Minister of State has given us some comfort by outlining what has happened and what is happening and her own commitment. As she said, it should be the Minister responsible for sports who should talk about sport and the Special Olympics but it is up to the Government to make it happen and I have every faith that the Minister of State will drive that.