Analysis: The publication of the Disability Bill, following the forced withdrawal of the last one almost four years ago, has been long delayed.
It is the product of protracted discussions between campaigners for people with disabilities and various Government Departments, notably the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, whose junior Minister, Mr Willie O'Dea, sponsored this Bill.
However, the shadow of another Department, that of Finance, hangs over this Bill, though more lightly than it did over its predecessor.
Some concessions have been won between the two Bills. There will be an independent assessment of the needs of those suffering from disabilities. However, there is no guarantee of these needs being met. Instead, the relevant health board officials will draw up a service statement, based on the assessment of needs, but also on the practicality of providing the service and on the availability of resources.
This Bill also contains provision for complaints about the service statements, though not about the assessment of needs, and an independent appeals procedure, both absent in the last Bill.
The first port of call for the person with disabilities is a complaints officer within the health board. The recommendation from the complaints officer will have regard to the practicality of providing the service and the resources available.
The next port of call is an appeals officer, to be appointed by the Minister for Health and Children. A decision of the complaints officer can be appealed to the appeals officer and that decision is final, except where a point of law is involved, when the applicant can go to the High Court.
Everything possible, therefore, has been done to exclude the courts from the process where people with disabilities obtain services from the State.
The Taoiseach and other Ministers said yesterday that it was unfair and a waste of resources for people to access services through the courts. This is true, but none of the families who did so took on the task lightly. They had been faced with the obdurate refusal of Government departments and agencies to acknowledge their responsibilities and the needs of people with disabilities.
Section 5.4 of the Disability Bill contains a provision restricting expenditure in any one year to the money budgeted for disability services. This seems to be an additional protection for Ministers who might be pursued in the courts for the provision of additional services.
Many aspects of this Bill have been and will be welcomed, especially its protection for those who avail of genetic testing, its strengthened provisions for public bodies to offer employment to people with disabilities and its provision for access to buildings and services. The final verdict, however, will depend on whether the caveats on resources will undermine the Bill's good intent.