Today a number of groups representing the rights of those with an intellectual disability took the opportunity to protest outside the gates of Leinster House to highlight the horrendous impact this Government has had on people with a disability. Many of those who would have liked to protest here today were unable to travel because they cannot get respite hours. These people are demanding only their basic rights – a right to adequate health care, a right to access to necessary facilities, a right to educational facilities and, above all, a right to equality of treatment. The Government has equivocated on this matter for too long. Last year it withdrew the disabilities Bill. It promised there would be two Bills in the House debated together and now the disabilities Bill has been put on the long finger.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has turned his back on the proposed UN convention on the rights of the disabled. Is it not time, in this the European Year of the Disabled and with the Special Olympics almost upon us when the eyes of the world will be on Ireland, the Taoiseach spelled out what the Government intends to do in respect of rights for the disabled? Will the Taoiseach avail of this opportunity or will he tell the House and all those interested in this sector, who have been so discriminated against, that he will enshrine in law rights for persons with disabilities and that he will do so at the earliest opportunity?