Disability rights pledge still not honoured
I was alarmed but not surprised. Last year, before the general election, I worked with Frances Fitzgerald on amending a draconian piece of proposed legislation, the Disability Bill.
This was an affront to disabled people, circumventing any commitments to enshrine basic rights in the legislation, failing to include a timeframe for implementation and actually denying a right of enforcement to individuals.
This bill was withdrawn by the government in the face of immense pressure from voluntary groups, opposition parties and individuals prepared to stand up for the interests of some of the most vulnerable members of society.
The commitment of the government to re-introduce a rights-based proposal after the election has not been honoured more than a year later.
Last May, we learned that the Minister for Justice had opposed any Irish involvement in finding an EU consensus on the proposed UN Convention for People with Disabilities, and opposed Irish participation in drafting the treaty on the rights of people with disabilities.
Rather than honour commitments to give lasting and enforceable rights to the disabled, the government is spending our money fighting such people every step of the way in the courts.
A callous and deliberate refusal to acknowledge and protect the rights of disabled people, at a time when ministers were smiling for the cameras, surrounded by inspiring young Special Olympians, was a tragic irony.
What a shame that the priority of our government appears to be cheap PR stunts and opportunistic photo-calls, rather than tackling the substantial challenge involved in making a meaningful, long lasting difference to the lives of these brave athletes.
Lucinda Creighton,
Vice President,
Young Fine Gael,
51, Upper Mount Street,
Dublin 2.
