Disability groups fear clauses in bill

DISABILITY groups fear there are clauses in the Disability Bill that will allow the Government to evade paying the kind of money needed to give them equal treatment as the rest of society.

The National Disability Authority is studying the bill line by line, together with their legal advisers.

Particularly worrying is the clause that states that a service will not be provided by a health board where it is established that it is “not possible or practicable” to provide it.

The proposed legislation also states that it is up to the various government ministers to consider what is the “appropriate” allocation after having regard to all their other obligations.

And, while the Government is stressing that the money to provide services will be “ring-fenced,” the money being provided won’t be known until the estimates are published next month.

NDA chairperson Angela Kerins said they would have to see the estimates first before they could be happy that adequate resources were being provided.

One mother whose son attends St Vincent’s Centre in Dublin said her son was assessed for the services he needed almost a year ago and is still waiting for the services he needs. Catherine Harte said the Daughters of Charity were doing their best but couldn’t provide the services her son needed due to a lack of funding.

“I don’t believe the bill is worth the paper it’s written on unless the Government funds the clinical posts that are needed,” she said.

People with Disabilities in Ireland chairman Michael Ringrose said the availability of resources was crucial.

And, he said, the big question was whether the sectoral plans in the various departments would be driven by a co-ordinated effort to ensure that a high-quality comprehensive service was delivered.

The proposed legislation is aimed at bringing disabled people in from the margins.

“Disabled people have to be treated just like any other member of the community. Leftover budgetary provisions will no longer do and budget priorities and allocations must take account of that,” he said.

Under the bill, a disabled person or an appeals officer can take a case to the Circuit Court if the State fails to implement their service needs assessment.

The court can then order the chief executive of a health board or the head of an education service provider to implement the relevant decision. But, said Mr Penrose, “a health board would be able to successfully argue that they have not enough therapists to serve the community.”