The Report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities deals extensively with the inequality experienced on a daily basis by people with disabilities and their families and carers. It presents a picture of a society which excludes people with disabilities from almost every aspect of economic, social, political and cultural life. The Commission made 402 recommendations, including addressing the need to improve services for people with a mental handicap.
I have established an interdepartmental task force to draw up a plan of action on the rights of people with disabilities, based on the report. The task force is chaired by my Department and is scheduled to submit its plan of action to Government around mid-year. On 18 April 1997, I formally established a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the Commissions's recommendations. The monitoring committee is representative of people with disabilities, their families and carers and service providers, as well as the social partners and Government Departments. I eagerly await the results of their deliberations and in particular with regard to those people with disabilities who are considered to be particularly vulnerable. In this regard, I refer the Deputy to Chapter 23 of the report.
One of the key recommendations of the Commission was a proposal to establish a permanent council to represent people with disabilities. On 11 March, the Interim Council, now known as the Irish Council of People with Disabilities, was launched, I was anxious that the council should be established on the firmest footing. On this basis, in addition to the £100,000 provided for it in the Estimates for my Department for 1997, I was able to secure an additional £200,000 in this year's budget, giving the council a total allocation of £300,000 in respect of this year.