John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very happy that the amendments are not being contested and that they are understood in the context and spirit in which they have been tabled.

I have a couple of points to make based on my having listened to the Minister of State and the various Senators who spoke. What we call obstacles are not just obstacles; they present a real danger. This point has just been made by Senator Máire Devine.

It is right that a Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is present. Reference was made to the convention. It is fine, but it is a matter for every Department. We need and hope for work in this House that will bring in the "slew" of Ministers on the issues that relate to them. We should get them to think, in particular, about the issues that cut across Departments. In that regard, mention was made of transport. Doing what I propose is the way to move things on.

People do not live in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government or the Department of Education and Skills; they live in a local authority area. This is so precious to them because it is through this and the facilities in the locality that they are given an opportunity to live their lives and gain access to education, housing and health services. The services are all mediated through the space in which people live. It dictates the extent to which they can participate.

Senator James Reilly talked about a particular man. I might know him. If I do not, I know half a dozen like him in Fingal. There are 1,200 young people under the age of 65 years in nursing homes. Nobody could have described this scenario more eloquently than Senator James Reilly.

With regard to other entities, in March 2017 the Garda commenced an initiative in Dublin called Operation Enable. It noted specifically who should and should not have been parking in parking bays. It found that a number of people were fraudulently using disability cards and also discovered various other such practices. The initiative has now been commenced in Cork. We must consider the role of other bodies. If local authorities are making spaces available, the Garda has a role to play. Senator Mark Daly made a point about enforcement. These are important considerations.

Senator Mark Daly also talked about how this House had been made accessible. I was here the night a former Taoiseach, the late Albert Reynolds, announced his 11 appointees to the Seanad, one of whom was a man from Cork in a wheelchair, Mr. Brian Crowley. A man close to me at home who worked for one of the newspapers asked me who the appointee was and I actually did not know him. We were here with the chairman of the Irish Wheelchair Association, Mr. Frank Mulcahy, from Cork - God rest him. To get in, we had to lift him up the steps and take him down around the corridors. Those steps have now been removed. That is how it was.

Perhaps someone might help me on the question of people parking in spaces in which they are not entitled to park their cars. Their excuse is always that they are parking for only two minutes. They are never doing so for only one minute or three minutes. They always say, "I am only going in for two minutes."Someone will have to come up with a good comedy act to raise awareness about it.

A number of Senators, including Senator Devine, talked about the Make Way day and that kind of work. I have tried to honour some of the points that have been made and I thank Senator Kelleher for seconding the motion.

We have finally arrived at the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is important to put it in context. It is a moment of hope and advancement but also one where we could take the wrong road. It would be a mistake to think the work has been done. I know well from my travels that people in Ireland are better placed and supported than in many parts of the world. By ratifying the convention, we are saying this is not our yardstick. We should never say in public that people are better off here than they would be somewhere else. It is a fact but as a State, we now committed internationally and we have given our bond to the UN and the nations that are part of it that we are setting out to put things right for people who are disabled. We are saying the same thing to people with disabilities and their families. We gave our word to the international community in March 2007 in signing the convention that we would begin the journey. The progressive implementation journey begins when in the next few weeks Ireland deposits the documentation for ratification with the UN. We are beginning the work with our sleeves rolled up. All Departments and civil society groups are getting stuck into it. That is our word to the international community and to our own people with disabilities. We are getting on with the job.

I will talk about the currency of keeping one's word. It is a debased currency if one does not keep it. As a small, democratic state, our word is a critical element of our domestic and international credibility. We do not have big armies or big guns and we cannot face people down. Our word has to be honest and people have to believe it. It is like taking one currency but not another from a person because one does not believe it is worth anything. The United States knew years before the fall of Saigon that it could not win the war and yet it continued to allow young American lives to be lost. Countless others also died. That happened because it had given its word to its allies that it would stand by them to the end and it was important for its credibility as a State to do that. It would not break its word. Ireland has given its word. That is the context in which we have to look at all of this.

I welcome the work Senator Martin Conway has put into the motion. I welcome Senators using their Private Members' time to focus on disability inclusion. My amendments are in the spirit of strengthening the motion. I have drawn attention, as has the Minister of State, to some of the broader serious issues which are not contested. Reference was made to NCBI and the Disability Federation of Ireland and I thank people for that. The Make Way day campaign involved many organisations, many people with disabilities and others. The action the motion calls for from the Minister of State would give further support to these initiatives which involve people with disabilities and a range of impairments.

I do not regard awareness-raising and attitude change as unimportant. They are important and along with two other elements they make up a trio of important factors. Another factor is legislation that needs to be put in place and legislation yet to be enacted. The third aspect is funding, including existing funding. Things can and should be done differently.

There is a need for awareness-raising with the public and businesses. Equally, a change of attitude is required across our public services to create an approach of dealing in the problem and not adding to it. We should be including people with disabilities in every part of the work of the Department.

Time is passing so I will leave it at that. I am very thankful to the Minister of State for being here again. In the context of implementation, we will get a number of different Departments to come in over time to deal with their various issues.