I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to present this Bill to the House. The Bill provides for the establishment of a new organisation, Comhairle, to combine the National Social Service Board, the NSSB, with certain disability support functions of the National Rehabilitation Board, the NRB. The proposal is one of a series of measures being undertaken by the Government to mainstream the provision of services for people with disabilities.
The Government fully supports the principle that people with disabilities are entitled to all the rights and privileges associated with citizenship and that all obstacles to the enjoyment of these privileges should be removed. These obstacles have been identified by the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities in its report "A Strategy for Equality".
That report adopted three guiding principles: equality, maximising participation and enabling independence of choice.
The Government's An Action Programme for the Millennium recognises disability as one of the most important social challenges facing us today. It includes, as stated priorities, implementation of the commission's report and achieving greater equality for people with disabilities. My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, has specific responsibility for disability issues and is coordinating the Government's programme in implementing the commission's report across a range of Departments. Since taking up office, the Government has taken a number of significant steps in promoting equal opportunities for people with disabilities. The establishment of the National Disability Authority on a statutory basis through the National Disability Authority Act and the setting up of an interim board represent a significant step forward.
The Bill to establish Comhairle is a further significant measure in this mainstreaming process. Comhairle will be the mainstream support agency for information services for all people, including those with disabilities. It is just a part of an overall Government programme aimed at ensuring that people with disabilities are treated equally by all service providers. The primary responsibility for this rests with the service providers themselves. The NDA will have a key role in developing standards, monitoring progress and promoting awareness at all levels. Comhairle's complementary role will relate specifically to information services as it seeks to ensure that all individuals, including those with disabilities, have access to information, advice and advocacy of the highest standard.
I will review some of the more important initiatives relating to people with disabilities. On the legislation front, important advances have been made on two fronts. Last June the Employment Equality Act, 1998, was enacted. This legislation outlaws discrimination on grounds of disability in gaining access to employment and advancing in employment. It gives protection to employees in both the public and private sectors as well as to applicants for employment and training. Also, the Equal Status Bill, which has now passed Committee Stage in the House, prohibits discrimination on a number of grounds, including disability, and deals with discrimination outside the employment area, including education, provision of goods and services, accommodation and disposal of property.
In addition the Government has provided substantial funding during the past two years – more than £91 million – in developing services for those suffering from a mental or physical disability. In the review of our programme for Government, we recognise that these services must now be developed at a faster rate and we have given a firm commitment to provide substantial additional funding to address this shortfall in services. Key priorities will include the development of services for people with physical and sensory disabilities and a comprehensive disability strategy.
The establishment of Comhairle under the Bill follows from recommendations made by an establishment group set up by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in November 1997. The establishment group was asked by Government to develop detailed proposals for a new infrastructure for disability issues and to consider the most appropriate future location of departmental responsibility for the functions of the NRB. The group reported to Government in June last year. The Government adopted its report, Building a Future Together, and gave approval for the implementation of each of the recommendations.
People with disabilities wish to be treated the same as their fellow citizens by having services delivered to them by the mainstream agencies, that is, the agency that provides the service to the rest of the community. This represents a significant change of approach. In the past, the State addressed disability issues primarily from a medical perspective. Responsibility for services to people with disabilities was, therefore, placed with the Department of Health and Children, with many of the services provided by that Department through the NRB. The new mainstreaming approach now proposed is not intended to replace such measures but to operate in parallel with them. In line with this principle, the group also recommended a number of administrative measures which involve the relocation of the functions at present performed by the NRB.
One of the key elements in the proposed arrangements recommended by the establishment group was the setting up of the National Disability Authority. The authority will be the central focus of the Government's approach to the provision of services to people with disabilities. The main function of the authority will be to develop standards in services provided to people with disabilities and to conduct independent monitoring of these services. It will not be a service-providing agency but will work in close co-operation with service providers in the voluntary and statutory sectors. An interim board has been established and it is planned to have the new authority up and running within the next few months.
In line with this mainstreaming approach, the Government has decided that vocational training and employment services for people with disabilities will be provided by FÁS operating under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This will represent a major step in integrating people with disabilities into the workforce and enabling them to achieve independence and choice. Similarly, the information services for those with disabilities provided by the NRB, under the provisions of the Bill, will be provided through Comhairle. A number of other services will be attached to other Departments, such as the audiology service, which will be provided by the Department of Health and Children through the health boards.
The establishment group is continuing its work towards implementing the new administrative and institutional arrangements for the NDA and the mainstreaming of services. It is working closely with both management and staff of the NRB and the relevant Departments and agencies. A target date of the end of March 2000 is now envisaged for the full implementation of these series of measures which also involve a transfer of NRB resources to the various Departments and agencies, including Comhairle.
The main purpose of the Bill is the setting up of the new organisation, Comhairle, to ensure individuals have access to accurate, comprehensive and clear information, advice and advocacy services on the full range of social services. The provision of information is an essential element of the relationship between social service providers and the people who use their services. In the past this aspect of the service may not have been given the attention it deserved. However, I am pleased to say that administrators are now much more aware of the needs of their customers.
The development and delivery of social services is a complex task at the best of times. Schemes and supports are designed to meet the needs of people, individuals and families in a wide variety of circumstances and it is, therefore, necessary to ensure that supports are broadly based and flexible enough to address their needs. The downside to this is that they can often be difficult to understand and, perhaps, even more difficult to access, particularly where the benefits required are administered by more than one Department or agency. In these circumstances, the challenge is to ensure that people have access to information and advice at local level which is clear, accurate and comprehensive.
There is an onus on Departments to directly provide information and advice on their own services and there is an expectation that this would be broad enough to guide people towards related services provided by other agencies. I am sure Deputies will agree that we have seen significant improvements in this regard in recent times. However, the ownership of information is not vested in the statutory services alone, nor should it ever be. Independent sources of information can invariably offer a far more flexible and comprehensive service than any single arm of Government. It is extremely important that people have a choice in this and it is clear that, in many cases, they prefer to deal with an independent organisation either as an alternative to the statutory services or in preparation for claiming their rights and entitlements.
For many years, the NSSB has provided resources to the independent information and advice-giving sector as well as to the statutory sector. The NSSB transferred from the Department of Health and Children to my Department a few years ago. This was seen as a first step towards strengthening and developing the independent information sector. Since then, the NSSB has embarked on a strategy of significantly upgrading the support it provides for both independent and statutory information providers centres. For example, it registers and supports a network of 85 independent citizens' information centres throughout the country which provide a free, confidential and impartial information service to members of the public. This involves some 35 full-time centres which are supplemented by some 50 part-time and mobile centres.
The NSSB has also developed a computerised database, the citizens' information database, which is a comprehensive, user-friendly source of information on social services. It has become one of the mainstays of many information-giving organisations throughout the country. In addition, the board has over the years provided a wide range of services to the voluntary social ser vice sector. Its strategy in this area includes the development of a range of services to support this sector in the areas of information, training management and organisational supports.
The National Rehabilitation Board operates 18 centres which provide, as part of their remit, information, advice and advocacy services to people with disabilities. These centres are located in the larger towns throughout the country and distribute a range of information on services in a variety of formats to people with disabilities. Some of the larger centres have a display range of technical aids for those with disabilities.
I will now outline some of the main features of the Bill. The Bill is divided into three Parts. Part 1, comprising sections 1 to 5, contains standard and technical provisions. Part 2 provides generally for the functions of the new organisation, and requirements relating to the members of the board, its chief executive and staff. Part 3 includes provisions arising from the dissolution of the National Social Service Board.
Section 7 provides for the functions of Comhairle. The principal function will be to ensure individuals have access to accurate, comprehensive and clear information, advice and advocacy on the full range of social services and are referred to such services. To date, this function has been discharged by the NSSB and the NRB in a variety of ways. The first priority for Comhairle will be to ensure that there will not be any disruption of services.
An important responsibility of Comhairle will be to assist and support people, including those with disabilities, to understand their needs of the broad range of social services and to help them identify the most suitable options available to them. It will assist them in securing their entitlement to services by referring them to the appropriate agency or service provider. In this context, Comhairle will have responsibility for continuing the provision of information and advice on assistive technology for people with disabilities. This latter service is currently provided by the NRB through some of its main centres. This involves information and advice on technical aids and options for people with disabilities and providing up to date information on new technological developments.
Comhairle will also continue to perform a number of functions which are currently discharged by the NSSB. These include promoting access to information by working with other organisations in the voluntary and statutory sectors; contributing to the development of social policy through feedback from the users and providers of information and supporting voluntary organisations which deliver social services by providing a range of services on information, training and organisational development support.
Section 8 requires Comhairle to prepare and submit to the Minister strategic plans relating to its objectives and strategies. The full integration of the various functions and operations of the two components of the new organisation will be Comhairle's initial goal.
Section 9 provides for the membership of the board which will comprise 20 members including a chairperson. The board will include five members representative of people with disabilities nominated by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, an elected member of staff and a representative from my own Department. Last November, I appointed a new board to the NSSB. In anticipation of the establishment of the new organisation, I extended the membership of that board from 15 to 20 and included some five members representative of people with disabilities who were nominated by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This board is acting as the interim board of Comhairle and is currently working closely with the establishment group and my Department on the practical arrangements involved in the proposed merger of both agencies. On the establishment day, the board will become the first board of Comhairle. The section also deals with the terms of office of the members of the board who shall be appointed for a maximum period of three years.
Section 13 provides for the appointment of a chief executive of Comhairle who shall be appointed by the board. The main functions of the chief executive will be to administer the affairs of Comhairle. Section 14 provides for the appointment of staff of Comhairle.
Sections 20 to 23 are standard provisions concerning grants and the accounts and audit of the new organisation. Comhairle will be funded primarily by the Exchequer through an annual grant from my Department's Vote. The necessary resources will be drawn from those currently available to the NSSB and a transfer of funds from the Vote of the Department of Health and Children to my Department in relation to the current NRB services. The issue of additional resources will be examined in the context of the board's three year strategic plan to be prepared immediately following its establishment.
Section 24 provides for the submission by the board of an annual report to the Minister and for the laying of each such report before each House of the Oireachtas. Sections 27 to 32 deal with the dissolution of the National Social Service Board and the transfer of the staff, assets and liabilities of the board to Comhairle.
The Government is committed to achieving greater equality for people with disabilities. Under its new mainstreaming approach to service provision, the Government aims to ensure that people with disabilities are treated equally, have access to all services, including employment and training, and to comprehensive and clear information on their entitlements on the same basis as provided to the rest of society.
I express my gratitude to the NSSB for the work it has carried out since 1984 in developing an independent information sector and to the NRB for its work over the last 30 years in provid ing a dedicated service to people with disabilities. I am confident that the staff of both organisations, who will transfer to Comhairle, will continue to provide excellent standards of service for all people, including those with disabilities.
I commend the Comhairle Bill to the House.