Intellectually disabled people ‘still face barriers’

PEOPLE with intellectual disabilities are still being discriminated against in areas of education, employment and housing and are rarely considered as citizens with a right to vote, the National Association for Mentally Handicapped of Ireland (NAMHI) said yesterday.

The organisation also criticised Junior Health Minister Tim O'Malley for claiming we had "some of the best" equality legislation in the world.

The minister's assertion sounded hollow to Irish delegates among 250 from 32 European countries at Inclusion Europe, a three-day conference in Dublin to promote the rights of people with intellectual disability.

"Over 70% of people with intellectual disability are not engaged in employment here. We have long waiting lists for residential day and respite services," said NAMHI general secretary Deirdre Carroll.

"We have very limited inclusion in mainstream education, while we're very slowly coming to that, compared to countries like Norway and Sweden which have total integration."

The Government is expected to introduce a new Disability Bill in October. The Government's previous proposals were withdrawn after disability interest groups described them as flawed and ineffective.

Ms Carroll said the Government's major fear was, if people with disabilities were given rights in law to specific services, these rights would become eligible to be adjudicated upon by the courts with the consequent implications for resources.

"It is this irrational fear of huge sums of money being spent on disability services which is causing a problem for the Government," said Ms Carroll.

Apart from a right to a free primary education for their child up to 18 and to the statutory income maintenance and health services, Ms Carroll said she had to tell families of children with intellectual disabilities they had no rights.

"Lawyers are fond of saying hard cases make bad law, but these are not just examples of isolated cases they are what happens to vulnerable people when they have no legal protection," she said. "This is why NAMHI continues to urge our legislators to bring forward a Disabilities Bill, which is rights-based".

The reaction of the public to people with intellectual disability during the Special Olympic World Games in Dublin last year was beyond expectation.

"It is ultimately this positive public support that will persuade the Government to give rights meaning for people with disabilities and develop policies underpinned by law that will allow for the participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of our society."