`People with disabilities are the neglected citizens of Ireland. They are angry - angry at a society that excludes them from almost every aspect of economic, social, political and cultural life. They want equality, to move from a reliance on charity towards establishing basic rights . . .
"Never again will any policymaker in Ireland believe that it is possible to see disability as a problem that can be dealt with by kindness or charity. Never again will any policymaker be able to see disability as a medical problem, to be dealt with in hospitals and institutions. Never again will any policy-maker be able to see disability as a minority issue, or as a nuisance."
These words are by Mr Mervyn Taylor, a former minister for Equality and Law Reform, in November 1996, following the publication of a report by the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. The extract is cited by Prof Gerard Quinn in a new guide drawn up by the Western Health Board. Social exclusion amounts to a lack of respect for difference, Prof Quinn, former director of research at the Law Reform Commission, said. He examined the roots of Ireland's perspective on disability, and found the 1937 Constitution to hold a major complication.
Article 40.1, the equality provision, was weak and this appeared to be deliberate, he noted. "In the Dail debates surrounding the adoption of the Constitution, Mr [Eamon] de Valera stated that he did not believe in the legitimacy of the concept of equal opportunities." Mr de Valera said: "Inequalities are in nature, inequalities must exist in any organised society . . . I say that equality of opportunity is not possible."
Advocacy, rights, benefits, access, organisations, publications, education and employment are issues dealt with in the publication. The guide was developed by Enable Ireland in collaboration with the Western Health Board's co-ordinating committee for physical and sensory disability, and 160 organisations are listed.
Entitled Access West - Bealach Aniar, the publication was endorsed last week by the Minister of State for Health and Children, Dr Tom Moffatt. It is available free in a range of formats, including A5 booklet, large print booklet, and Braille from the health board at 091-775290, or Enable Ireland, 091-534522, and on the Internet at www.enableireland.ie/accesswest