Government under fire over reform of disability services

THE Government today faces mounting criticism over its failure to reform disability services, as campaigners converge on Leinster House in protest at government cuts in the sector.

In a bid to embarrass the Government in the lead-up to the Special Olympics, opposition leaders are expected to grill the Taoiseach on disability rights in the Dáil, while a Fine Gael private members motion to be debated today and tomorrow will condemn the Government for its neglect of the mental health sector.

Meanwhile the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland (NAMHI) will simultaneously lead a day of protest highlighting the delay in the forthcoming Disability Bill.

Another group, the Disability Legislation Consultation Group (DLCG), will tomorrow meet with Junior Minister at the Justice, Equality and Law Reform Department Willie O’Dea to demand that any new disability legislation contains legally enforceable rights.

The DLCG, which submitted a comprehensive list of proposals to the Department of Justice earlier this year, including a call for the introduction of a minister for disability, represents eight of the largest disability organisations in the country.

The DLCG was brought together at the request of the Government to ensure that effective consultation with the disability sector after the collapse of the 2001 Disability Bill.

NAMHI president Jean Spain said many people taking part in the Special Olympics would have no services afterwards as their schools would be closed for summer.

“An awful lot of parents are left with the idea that they will be sitting at home all summer with no services,” she said.

At today’s protest, which will be attended by members of the Irish Special Olympics delegation, campaigners will hand letters of protest to both the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach.

DLCG chairperson Angela Kerins, who is also chairperson of the National Disability Authority, said disabled people were simply demanding their fundamental needs.

“People want an independent assessment of needs without any influence of what money is available,” she said, adding that a redress mechanism was a crucial aspect of any pending bill.

Crucially, a redress mechanism guaranteeing rights was the stumbling block which saw the 2001 Disability Bill shelved.

A new bill, currently being prepared by the Government, was initially promised before the Dáil’s summer recess but is not expected before the autumn at the least.

Fine Gael deputy spokesperson on health Dan Neville accused the Government of making cutbacks instead of improving the disability sector.

“This government has not only abandoned the most vulnerable in our society in times when our prosperity would have allowed us to ensure that they received proper facilities and services, but this government has now added insult to injury by introducing more cutbacks, which will further erode their human rights,” said Mr Neville.