Vol. 531 No. 3
232 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will support and positively respond to a charter concerning people with disability (details supplied) which sets out the minimum rights which should be enshrined in legislation. [5534/01]
I was pleased to meet representatives of the National Parents and Siblings Alliance, the National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland and the Federation of Voluntary Bodies Providing Services to People with a Mental Handicap in November of last year to discuss the charter of rights referred to by the Deputy. We had a very wide-ranging and useful discussion and have agreed on a number of initial steps which include an inventory of the current legal entitlements to services, proposed relevant legislation and the identification of any outstanding issues which remain in relation to the areas which the proposed charter covers. This work is currently under way and I will be in contact with the various representative groups once it has been completed.
