Vol. 554 No. 5
1362 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress which has been made on the drafting of a Disabilities Bill to replace the one which was withdrawn during the 28th Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15984/02]
1387 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will give a guarantee that he will support a rights based approval on the Disability Bill, 2001; and if he will ensure Department of Finance approval in this issue. [16493/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1362 and 1387 together.
Following a Government decision earlier this year to undertake a consultation process on disability legislation and, in particular, the Disability Bill, 2001, a consultation team chaired by an assistant secretary in my Department and including a person with a disability and other experts in economic and legal fields was appointed in April 2002. I understand that in progressing this task, the consultation team is examining proposals from disability groups as well as engaging with other relevant stakeholders.
In light of the ongoing consultations it would not be helpful for me to comment on the likely content of any future Disability Bill, or to speculate on the future views of Ministers in relation to it, especially as An Agreed Programme for Government deals with the matter in quite specific terms.
