Legislation: A number of groups representing disabled people are considering pulling out of a Government-established consultation group in protest over the contents of the Disability Bill.
The Disability Legislation Consultation Group (DLCG), an umbrella group formed for disabled people, their families and service providers, meets tomorrow to discuss the latest developments relating to the legislation. The Bill, which promises to deliver high-quality support services for people with disabilities, has attracted criticism over its failure to include rights-based access to services. The last Disability Bill was withdrawn before the 2002 general election following a similar outcry.
The National Association for Mentally Handicapped of Ireland (Namhi), which represents up to 28,000 people with disabilities, the Forum on People with Disabilities and the National Parents and Siblings Alliance are considering whether to continue liaising with the Government following its refusal to allow significant changes to the Bill.
However, Angela Kerins, DLCG chairwoman, said she believed there was still a possibility of securing concessions on a number of issues. "Everyone has to respect what individual groups feel they should do. My personal belief is to keep up the fight until it's all over," she said, adding that amendments, such as allowing disabled people to participate in the periodic review of services available to them, were still up for discussion.
Mary Keogh of the Forum on People with Disabilities said the group did not see the use of the continued existence of the DLCG in its current format given that the Government had ruled out any significant further amendments.
Deirdre Carroll of Namhi said the group would decide on its position tomorrow. "We have a very clear mandate from our members at our recent agm which instructed us that the Bill should be scrapped. We are prepared to negotiate over a number of points, but the Government doesn't seem prepared to even do that."
The Disability Bill will be debated in the Dáil today and later this week and is due to be enacted during the summer. The controversy over legislation has overshadowed the launch of a public consultation process over sectoral plans setting out a programme of action on several disability issues.
