Bill fails to protect disabled people, say protesters
Disability rights campaigner Katherine O’Leary said the bill, which is going through the Dáil at the moment, would not provide a secure future for her son, who has Down’s Syndrome.
“There are times when I can’t sleep at night worrying about who will look after him when I’m gone. Families can be given peace of mind by correcting this bill,” she said.
Ms O’Leary was addressing a protest meeting in the RDS last night, which was organised by the Rights Make The Difference Campaign.
She said the bill protected the State instead of disabled people.
“The bottom line is that this bill says no service need be provided unless the resources are there.”
The bill includes phrases such as ‘as far as is practicable’ and ‘as resources permit’.
Disability groups are planning an intensive lobbying campaign to persuade TDs and senators to introduce amendments to the bill. Public meetings are to be held in the Meath and Kildare North constituencies to coincide with the upcoming by-elections.
Ms O’Leary said there were many parents who could not attend the meeting because of the special needs of their children.
“I’m thinking of the mother of the 17-year-old boy with Prader Willi syndrome (a genetic disorder) who is in a psychiatric hospital in Cork because no school place is available for him,” she said.
The first disability bill, which was introduced four years ago, was scrapped following severe criticism from the disability sector.
Disability groups fear that the appeals process being put in place in the new bill for those denied services will be too bureaucratic. They also fear that definitions of disability used in the bill will exclude some disabled people.
The Parents and Siblings Alliance told the meeting that the Government thought giving rights to disabled people was going to ‘break the bank’.
“We believe that, no more than giving rights to women 30 years ago, it’s something you have to do,” said chairman Séamus Greene.
He provided feedback to the Government on the bill as a member of the Disability Legislation Consultation Group (DLCG).
“We advised and they ignored the advice,” he said.
He added that despite a ‘frightening’ amount of hype about the bill from the Government, there was no evidence it was going to work.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Maurice Manning, the president of the Human Rights Commission, which has expressed concerns about the disability bill.
It said the Government had not put proper human rights standards and structures in place, despite its ‘evident effort’.
The Department of Justice said that the written submission of the DLCG was being considered by Minister of State Frank Fahey.
A spokeswoman said the process of considering amendments to the bill was ongoing.
