Opposition criticises Government disability plan

The main opposition parties have attacked the Government's Disability Bill over what they claim are insufficient details and lack of budget allocations.

The Labour Party leader Mr Pat Rabbitte criticised the Bill for its lack of  details of funding and its inclusion of "draft" sectoral plans and legislation which contains "highly circumscribed" entitlements.

"While the Bill provides for independent assessments of needs and the drawing up of 'service statements', it is very clear that the officers drawing up service statements must take account not only of the eligibility under the Health Acts of the person whose needs have been assessed, but also of the resources available for meeting the needs identified," he said.

"The claim is also made that the Bill introduces a form of ring-fencing of resources for disability, presumably in section 5 of the Bill. When that section is examined in detail, it actually represents a limit on what Ministers can spend.

"In future, people denied services will be told that the limits prescribed by law have been exceeded. In effect, the new provision will act as a suitable defence by any Minister in danger of being sued by a person or family denied a service," Mr Rabbitte said.

Fine Gael's health spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said any benefits from the Bill would depend on adequate resources being made available.

"This legislation will be a success if, in the future, the parents of children born with a

disability can have the confidence and consolation of knowing that help and resources will be there to enable their child to meet its full potential throughout its life," she said. Early intervention, resourcing and staffing will be critical because it is at this stage in a child's life that really quantum changes in future quality of life can be effected. A timetable for targeting this priority will be crucial."

Fine Gael's disability spokesman, Mr David Stanton, said there remained many "grey areas" despite the publication of the Bill. These include "the timeframe for the provision of services, the amount of additional funding to be made available each year and how truly 'rights-based' the legislation proves to be."

"People with disabilities have waited long enough," he said. "This Government has an unenviable record in producing major plans with a great deal of fanfare, only to see them shelved as more urgent short-term political priorities arise.

"Fine Gael intends to make sure that when the Bill is enacted it will underpin the delivery of the best possible services to people with disabilities."

The Green Party described the Bill as "strong on rhetoric but weak on commitments". Equality spokesman Mr Ciarán Cuffe said the "employment targets are "unimpressive, the budgets don't yet exist, and the much heralded 'rights' are minimalist".

He noted the private sector is under no obligation to make buildings accessible to persons with disabilities while public sector bodies are given ten years to do so. He also said there was no commitment to budgets in today's announcement.

"People with disabilities must be entitled to the same civil and human rights as others," Mr Cuffe said.