The Labour Party has called for a Disabilities Bill to enshrine the equal entitlement of disabled people "to participate in public, social, political and economic life". The pledge is contained in a policy document on disability circulated at a meeting which the party held yesterday for disability groups.
A Disabilities Bill would strengthen the right to accessible public transport, public buildings, schools and colleges and leisure facilities, the document says.
Drafted by the party's spokeswoman on equality and law reform, Ms Jan O'Sullivan TD, the document says the Constitution should be amended "to give further protection to the rights of people as against property rights".
The party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, told the meeting that Ireland could aspire to be "a northern European society where the individual lives in a well-provided for community" or a "North American" society in which "basic human rights like healthcare and housing are available only to those who pay rather than on the basis of real need.
"Do we aspire to a society in which our streets are clean and our environment protected or one in which people huddle behind locked doors from unsafe streets?"
The party's health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, called on the Government to invest "substantial resources" in the Budget to support carers and voluntary groups which work on behalf of people who are infirm, ill or old. "Thousands of people across the country need full-time care," she said.
"For instance, people with a mental or physical disability and many elderly people could not live in the community without the support and dedication of relatives and organisations who provide vital care and assistance. These groups are an integral part of the Irish healthcare system and they deserve improved support from Government for the work they do. The forthcoming Budget must address this."