Ahern says Disability Bill will be rights-based

IRELAND’S 350,000 disabled people will be entitled, under new laws, t o take legal action where services are not being provided by the State, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern promised yesterday.

The move marks a significant U-turn by the Government on the policy it proposed in the controversial Disability Bill last year.

That bill was scrapped weeks before the general election because campaigners were outraged that it prohibited disabled people from pursuing their needs for essential services in the courts.