Taoiseach under pressure to deliver on disability vow

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern will be under pressure next month to stick to his promise to deliver rights-based legislation for the disabled this autumn.

On October 22, Mr Ahern will launch an EU initiative to mark the European Year of People with Disabilities.

Called Making the Difference, the campaign is aimed at mobilising people to do something positive for the disabled who make up 10% of the population. As patron of the campaign Mr Ahern will be in the frontline flying the flag.

When Mr Ahern met the Disability Legislation Consultation Group (DLCG) last July he gave a clear commitment that the Disability Bill, due to be published in November, will allow for enforceable rights for people with disabilities.

While the details of the bill remain to be seen, the concept of a regulator/ enforcer was discussed as a mechanism for ensuring the rights are upheld, with the courts available to people as a last resort.

This week the DLCG restated its understanding in writing to the Taoiseach that access to the courts will be provided when provisions within the proposed legislation are not met.

And in a further bid to ensure that the DLCG gets what it wants from the legislation it has organised a major international conference on disability law that takes place in Dublin today.

Chairperson of both the DLCG and the National Disability Authority Angela Kerins said the conference afforded a unique opportunity for people in the disability sector to arm themselves with a lot of information prior to the bill being published.

“We will have highly experienced people in disability and human rights legislation so it is a huge opportunity to tap into the international resources that will be available to us,” she said.

Ms Kerins said the conference could have a significant impact on the proposed legislation. “This will provide an ideal opportunity for us to debate it and get it right,” she said.

Ms Kerins said they had no reason to believe Mr Ahern would not implement what he has promised to the DLCG. Obviously, she said, the litmus test would be in November when the bill is published. The Taoiseach has already offered the DLCG an opportunity to meet him again when the contents of the bill are known.