Government's disability strategy 'in shambles'
Nigel Brander, president of the International Federation of Persons with Physical Disability or FIMITIC, called for a single authority with overall responsibility for the area.
"The Government's National Disability Strategy, which allocated an extra €1.3 billion to the disability sector up to 2009, is in shambles," said Mr Brander, after being elected at FIMITIC's headquarters in Switzerland.
"Responsibility for implementation is stretched across seven Government departments with no one department or body coordinating or leading it. It is, effectively, a rudderless ship."
Mr Brander, who is the national chairman of the People with Disabilities in Ireland (PwDI), said Ireland was still a "ferociously unequal society" for people with disabilities.
"This is at its most extreme when it comes to people with mental health difficulties," he said.
"The last report from the Health Research Board found that 2,270 people with intellectual disabilities are without services, such as residential or day services."
He said new buildings continue to be erected without disability access.
"Those responsible for public buildings were given an opt-out from their responsibilities for several years to come in the Disability Act just enacted."
He said local authorities returned €17.6 million unspent to the Department of Environment that was allocated for the Disabled Persons and Essential Repairs grants in 2004. He said this would have adapted 1,000 homes for disabled people.
Fine Gael equality spokesman, David Stanton, said no-one seemed to be in charge of disability strategy.
"Billions of euro are being spent on services for people with disabilities, but services don't seem to be improving."
Labour's disability spokeswoman, Kathleen Lynch, said the Department of Justice had no "long term interest" in disability.
"If we are to bring Ireland up to an international standard we have to have a department entirely concentrating on that agenda."
A spokesperson for Minster of State at the Department of Justice, Frank Fahey, who is responsible for coordinating the strategy, said there was structured co-ordination across all implementing Government departments.
"Key developments involve ongoing consultation on the sectoral plans for each of these key departments and an initiative designed to foster best practice in physical accessibility was launched in the past week."
