It is part and parcel of Government policy to transfer certain issues which require long-term planning to special bodies to consider and report on. In doing so the Government recognises that persons outside its political and administrative spheres can make a significant contribution to public policy development. One such area which was given to a special review group to consider is health services for people with physical and sensory disabilities. However, the treatment of that group's work in the Department raises serious questions about whether it is being used to forestall action in this area.
Four and a half years ago the Review Group on Services for People with Sensory and Physical Disabilities was appointed. In its first two years of existence it met on 16 occasions and conducted a consultation exercise to draw on the experiences and attitudes of individuals and groups intimately concerned with the problems facing people with physical and sensory disabilities. Since mid-1994 many obstacles have been put in the way of the group finalising and publishing its report, which was almost complete when the Minister, Deputy Noonan, took office. All that was needed was administrative support, but that has been consistently withheld and a pattern of delays and promises has been forthcoming from the Minister's office.
Following the Minister's appointment the review group did not meet for 11 months and a meeting was called then only because I tabled a Dáil question on the issue. Subsequently the group met on four occasions and it held a consultation meeting on its draft report. At that meeting the secretary of the Department stated publicly that the report would be published shortly and that there would be substantial additional funding made available to commence implementation of its recommendations.
I raised this issue on the Adjournment on 30 May last but the Minister did not attend — I note he is not present tonight either. The Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, who responded to the debate on 30 May, assured the House that he was committed to publishing the report and that it was being treated as a matter of urgency. I have received more than two dozen replies to questions from the Department this year stating that particular issues are being delayed in expectation of the report, which will be published without delay. All those promises have been broken and the greater the delay the more disability organisations are of the opinion the Department is deliberately trying to avoid having to fund its recommendations in next year's budget. This seems all the more likely following the Minister's decision to take physical and sensory disability services off his list of priorities.
I want the Minister to give a commitment that the report will be published immediately. I do not want another promise that will be broken. I want him to ensure that the promise made by the Department's secretary to immediately begin implementation of its recommendation is fulfilled. If he fails to give these commitments he will undermine credibility in a Government response to the imminent report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities.
