I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 10, 12, 18, 22 and 24 together.
Under the policy agreement, A Government of Renewal, the Government is committed to taking specific action to end discrimination and to ensure equal opportunity for participation by all people in Irish life. The intention is to put in place mechanisms for full and equal participation by every citizen with a disability in every aspect of economic and social life in line with the forthcoming recommendations of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, which I appointed in 1993.
In the meantime, and without prejudice to the commission's work, I have been pressing ahead with several initiatives to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities and to enhance their employment status. I will be introducing in the Oireachtas two new equality Bills, the Employment Equality Bill and the Equal Status Bill.
The Employment Equality Bill will repeal the Acts of 1974 and 1977 and re-enact them with substantial improvements, with a view to securing radical improvements in the legislative framework for equality. The Bill, among other things, will cover discrimination on grounds of disability.
The Government is also committed to tackling the question of discrimination in non-employment areas. The proposed Equal Status Bill will afford protection with regard to discrimination in education, access to goods, services and facilities, including recreational facilities, entertainment, accommodation, transport and professional services, and to the disposal of accomodation or other premises. Protection under this legislation will apply to various categories, including people with disabilities.
As regards exploring ways of increasing job opportunities, I had a meeting recently with the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation with a view to developing mechanisms to enhance the prospects and opportunities for advancement of people with disabilities in the employment area. I regard this meeting as one of the ongoing series of consultations with employers' representatives geared towards increasing the number of people with disabilities employed in the private sector.
The Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities is due to present its report to the Government at the end of this year. In its deliberations, the commission has been engaged in the most extensive consultation exercise since the foundation of the State with people with disabilities, their parents and carers and other interested parties. The conclusions of the working group which the commission set up to look at the issue of work and training, in so far as these issues relate to people with disabilities, will form a very important part of the commission's final report.
The 3 per cent quota for the employment of people with disabilities has been met in the Civil Service and I am continuing my efforts in seeking to improve the position in the wider public sector. I fully support the efforts of the National Rehabilitation Board in its efforts to improve the employment prospects of people with disabilities and believe that the Monitoring Committee for the Employment of People with Disabilities, which operates under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, has an important part to play in progressing this issue.
I understand the commission is also examining the question of the pay levels applying to people with disabilities in sheltered employment. It would be prudent to have the expert advice of the commission before embarking on new initiatives in this area.
I am aware of the difficulties being experienced by people with a disability in relation to financial services and insurance cover. These important issues are also being considered at present by the commission and I look forward to receiving its recommendations for improving the situation. However, the commission's deliberations do not prevent any person who feels that he or she has been unfairly treated from lodging a complaint with the appropriate complaints authorities within those industries and seeking to have it fully investigated. The proposed Equal Status Bill will prohibit discrimination on grounds of disability in the financial services sector.
The ad hoc steering group, which I set up on 6 April 1995, on the recommendation of the commission, to facilitate the establishment of a Council for the Status of People with Disabilities, has already met on a number of occasions. The establishment of the council will provide a permanent forum for having issues affecting the welfare and interests of people with disabilities examined and highlighted and will constitute an important step in ensuring that these issues are addressed.
My role in relation to people with disabilities, in addition to those outlined above, is essentially a co-ordinating one. In this connection, my Department is represented on a number of interdepartmental committees dealing with problems which impact on the lives of people with disabilities. I should point out, however, that the Minister of State at the Departments of Health, Education and Justice has special responsibility for aspects of child care and policies affecting children.
The Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities has established a working group to examine the situation of people with disabilities in relation to arts and culture. I understand that, last November, the commission co-sponsored, with the National Rehabilitation Board and the City Arts Centre, a conference on arts and disability in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham and that it has taken other initiatives to ascertain the views of people with disabilities and interested groups in relation to arts and culture. I believe that the initiatives undertaken by the commission adequately address the point raised by Deputy McDowell in his question.
