I am delighted the Minister is here tonight because he has an interest in the area I am addressing, that is, the report on the review of services to people with physical and sensory disabilities. There has been an extraordinary delay producing this report. The review committee was established in 1992, when Dr. John O'Connell was Minister for Health. Although it met on many occasions then, until last week it had not met since April last year. The purpose of the review was to devise a blueprint for the future funding and development of services for this sector.
Tragically, this sector is growing because of our success in the health field. There are now more people with physical and sensory disabilities because our population is living longer and children born prematurely with physical or sensory disabilities are surviving. This sector is expanding because of our success in medicine. The thrust of this document was to be similar to that on the needs and abilities of those with mental handicap.
Successive Ministers for Health promised to publish this report, but this has not happened. A few weeks ago, at a disability federation conference, an official from the Minister's Department said it would be published before the end of the year, but that is unlikely. There is considerable frustration among the organisations helping those who are physically handicapped or who have a sensory problem. They are beginning to believe that the Department of Health is dragging its feet on this. I would like a commitment that the report will be published shortly.
This commitment is important not only for those with physical handicaps but for those who look after them. Carers do not receive enough consideration and they have demands which must be met. We have little respite care for these people, whether they are old people or children with disabilities. We are also short of technical aids — some health board areas are worse than others.
The report is urgently needed to outline our philosophy towards those involved. It would show that we are placing an emphasis on trying to prevent handicap. While the need for folic acid to prevent the development of neural tube defects has been well recognised — I will not go into the tremendous research which has been done in this country — advertising is coming from commercial companies trying to get people to take folic acid. Tragically, it is not being used by groups most at risk of having children with neural tube defects. This area of research and prevention is not being looked at. We also know that early intervention is important in preventing disabilities from becoming worse.
Other Departments — for example, the Department of Education — await this report. A strong effort has been made to link people with physical and sensory disabilities, including those who are blind and deaf, into the general education system. This report is important to other areas. The school medical services will need to become involved. Other areas will not be addressed until we get this report.
The need to ensure co-ordination between children with physical handicaps and sensory difficulties and the general education system was first made in 1981. Yet 15 years later, the report has still not been published. This is disappointing not only for those who hope to benefit from the report but for the people who look after them. Voluntary organisations await this report which will involve co-operation between the voluntary and State sectors in dealing with these problems, which are serious in some cases or which can be simply addressed in others. What has caused the delay and why has this report not been published?
