Mary Wallace
Question:45 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the groups which include people with disabilities which receive aid from his Department; and the amount received by each group. [8184/95]
Written Answers. - Aid for Disabled.
Assistance is provided by my Department to groups operating in the areas of arts and culture, the heritage and the Irish language which number the disabled among their members but the Deputy will appreciate that the detailed information requested is not readily available.
I would like to assure the Deputy, however, that I very much appreciate the fact that arts, culture and heritage can provide a way in which to help integrate, in a non-discriminatory way, people with disabilities into the wider community and my own Department and the bodies under its aegis remain committed to assisting in this regard in any way possible. An example of this commitment is contained in the recently published 3 years Arts Plan of An Chomhairle Ealaíon. One of the Plan's Strategic Objectives aims to encourage real participation in the arts in terms of availability and access to,inter alia, people with disabilities. In order to give effect to this Objective, the Plan proposes the carrying out over two years of a joint action research project, involving people with disabilities, with the National Rehabilitation Board to establish means to enable people with disabilities to participate in the arts. Another example of developments in hand is the provision of fishing facilities on the Grand Canal at Ballyteigue to include fishing for people with disabilities, integrated into the general facility, with similar facilities planned for other waterways.