OscailtDisability Bill: The Betrayal of People with Disability'This is now a totally flawed and fundamentally inadequate piece of legislation'
Breaking news: Italian MP, Sgarbi denounces the Statistical Fraud on COVID-19. The speech of the Member of Parliament Vittorio Sgarbi in the session of the Italian Camera, Meeting no. 331 of Friday 24, April, 2020. Vittorio Sgarbi, denounces the closure of 60% of the businesses for 25,000 COVID-19 Deaths, of which the National Institute of Health says 96.3% died NOT of COVID-19 but of other pathologies. That means only 925 have died of the virus. 24,075 have died of other things.2005-06-30T11:52:24+00:00Indymedia Irelandimc-ireland@lists.indymedia.iehttp://www.indymedia.ie/atomfullposts?story_id=70525http://www.indymedia.ie/graphics/feedlogo.gifOther Recent Stories On Disability Issues on Indymedia Irelandhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1126742005-06-30T11:52:24+00:00eeekkkkkInterview with Dan Boyle on Disability Issues
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire....Interview with Dan Boyle on Disability Issues <br />
<a href="http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70458">http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70458</a><br />
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Interview with Kathy Sinnott (August 2004) <br />
<a href="http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70459">http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70459</a><br />
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Able Bodies: Parents Are Professionals <br />
<a href="http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70460">http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70460</a><br />
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Parent/Teacher Partnership for Children with Special Needs <br />
<a href="http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70461">http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70461</a><br />
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HONK to Support the Blind Campaign for Audible Crossings <br />
<a href="http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70502">http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70502</a>with or without you.http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1127722005-06-30T20:42:40+00:00ioMore than half the wheelchair users with tickets for London's Live 8 concert wil...More than half the wheelchair users with tickets for London's Live 8 concert will be unable to attend, due to insufficient space allocated.<br />
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4638187.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4638187.stm</a><br />
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Ray Williams, 47, who works in a chocolate factory, said: "Without trying to be creepy, it's being part of trying to make a change. I'm not political at all but there shouldn't be poverty, there shouldn't be children going without food in the world and we want to be part of the event."<br />
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The Blair government have now turned thier attention to the EU budget, for in 2005, they not only will reconstitute the african empire, but also lead Europe.<br />
Its a big time for them, it means cutting funding and assistance to millions of poorer Europeans to ease the fiscal obligations of the British state. & it makes sense. by 2006 there will be no poverty. Sources close to the OED have suggested reverting to older terminology, such as "impecunious". <br />
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Ray Williams, 47, who works in a chocolate factory, said: "Without trying to be creepy, it's being part of trying to make a change. I'm not political at all but there shouldn't be *impecunity*, there shouldn't be children going without food in the world and we want to be part of the event."Re: with or without -on access to Live 8http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1128322005-07-01T13:54:28+00:00anonApologies for going off-thread, but the Make Poverty History / Live 8 has alread...Apologies for going off-thread, but the Make Poverty History / Live 8 has already been co-opted by the UK government and the aims and objectives at least in the public face presented and other pronouncements have been greatly watered down.<br />
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Indeed, I heard there aren't even any bands from Africa playing in the Live 8.<br />
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See: Inside The Murky World Of The Uk's Make Poverty History Campaign <br />
by Stuart Hodkinson; Red Pepper; June 28, 2005 <br />
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<a href="http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70521&type=otherpress">http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70521&type=otherpress</a>Are these comments related to the article above?http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1129872005-07-02T15:10:53+00:00Miriam CottonThis article relates to the disability legislation just passed by the Dail. Som...This article relates to the disability legislation just passed by the Dail. Some of the comments above would be more approp for the Live 8 pieces elsewhere on Indymedia? I was hoping to get a debate going about the Disability legislation which raises very serious constitutional issues and has taken away rights of people with disability. Im sympathetic to the causes mentioned above but they are well covered elesewhyere on Indymedia. Could we please stick with the issue??<br />
Many thanksSupport of TDs versus party support. Last resort -rally in the Park?http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1134102005-07-05T00:48:32+00:00TerryMiriam,
When you say:
"Within the Fianna Fail party, countless numbers of TDs ...Miriam,<br />
When you say:<br />
"Within the Fianna Fail party, countless numbers of TDs say privately to representatives of disability groups that they support their aims – many more than the majority by which this Bill was passed and a lot more than the majority by which the government holds its balance of power (5). When their support was urgently needed, not a single one of them voted against the Bill."<br />
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-I think you will have to agree it is the threat of the party apparatus, largely through the instrument of the Party Whip that causes most of the TDs to vote in the opposite manner to the expressed wishes. This is quite central to the issue of parlimentary democracy, because the use of the party whip is clearly dictatorial. <br />
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Obviously because of the numerous High Court cases over the years that managed to secure certain rights for the disabled, the government have decided to close off this avenue with this Bill by investing more power in themselves.<br />
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It is unclear how to proceed here and it is sad that we are now relying our hopes on just one person -the President -to refer this Bill to the Supreme Court. If we lived in a so-called democracy, then how could the wishes of so many depend on so few? No doubt as usual the government will claim it was introduced democratically, but we know otherwise.<br />
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The only possible suggestion that I can think of is some kind of mass rally on the Presidents lawn up in the Park to try and publicly embarrass her into referring it to the Supreme Court.separate issues?http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1134672005-07-05T14:52:32+00:00Laurence Coxlcox at iol dot ieThese are serious issues, but I wonder if they are so separate...
Most if not...These are serious issues, but I wonder if they are so separate...<br />
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Most if not all Indymedia readers will naturally be in support of the disability campaigners - as will most people in the country. But what to do? As Miriam's article points out, the main opposition parties are ambiguous on this and matters are unlikely to improve if the government changes - FG and Labour politicians will get the same advice from the same civil servants, and write the same kind of legislation if they get that far.<br />
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As disability campaigners know from the experience of the Community Platform in the last partnership round, this experience is shared by activists on many other issues - by community groups, travellers' rights activists, environmentalists (incinerators, Shell pipeline), aid agencies, peace groups (Shannon stopover), heritage activists (Tara) and more. We get consulted to death (or most of us do), and then the State goes ahead and does what suits them anyway.<br />
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Individually none of us (including disability groups) are strong enough to do more than put pressure on at the edges or win on individual points. If we want to actually win something more significant (eg a genuinely rights-based society, a decent health service etc.) we need each other.Reply to Laurence and Terryhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1135412005-07-05T20:25:44+00:00Miriam CottonRe Terry and Laurences’ comments: I completely agree both that the problems peo...Re Terry and Laurences’ comments: I completely agree both that the problems people are experiencing across a range of issues are the same (political manipulation, lack of real democracy and/or accountability etc etc) and also that the party political system is strangling the life-blood out of community and public life in the way Laurence describes. There is no possibility of individual discretion among politicians any longer. It’s difficult to write about these things without ending up in a tired old rant about ‘short-termism’, ‘corporate intimidation’, ‘government puppets of corporate paymasters’ etc. All those things are true, but maybe some traditional forms of protest have lost their ability to convince people? Time was when a demonstration by a few thousand people would create a real climate of concern. Not any longer. People are jaded and cynical and also on a subconscious level they believe they have lost the argument before they even try to argue it. Besides, government simply anticipates this form of protest and effectively rubbishes it in a largely compliant national media. And nobody wants to be ‘unpopular’ anymore - no matter how appalling the injustice opposed, bizarrely, people seem to reserve an even greater contempt for those who object. I think we need to forget traditional forms of access to publicity – mainstream media lets us all down continually in any case (its also increasingly irrelevant to the everyday lives of ‘ordinary’ people). Someone recently suggested to me that there is an untapped source of peaceful protest that may prove to be more effective in achieving what we want and more difficult for politicians to monitor - and therefore to manipulate: by networking extensively on a national, local and especially on an individual level on a particular issue, we might influence opinion more than politicians suspect. We should include professional organisations, research institutes and academics, individual contacts etc. It may not be in the public eye but possibly all the more effective for that. I believe the disability issue is a good place to start a coordinated effort of this sort. It is a huge lobby compared to many others and it affects people of all persuasions and positions. Whaddya think?<br />
MiriamThanks for highlighting this issuehttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1135632005-07-05T23:01:56+00:00Catherine AnsbroMiriam,
Thanks for this extensive update. It is appalling that this legislat...Miriam,<br />
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Thanks for this extensive update. It is appalling that this legislation is going through, after all the lip service promising reform. One more fake consultation process. Maybe some EU-level complaint could be filed because of the sham of the consultation process. A public demonstration, as previously suggested, to put pressure on the President to put this to the Supreme Court, is a very good idea.<br />
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I hate the way things like this are so carefully timed so as to avoid having to respond publicly while the Dail is in session. And I hate the way the government is so keen to "use" the disabled community around election time, and then ignore them flagrantly inbetween. It is unforgivable that the disabled community is once again being forced to beg to have its most basic human rights respected.<br />
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You are right to raise questions now about where FG and Labour really stand. Now is the time to be asking those questions. It is all too likely that unless there is a lot of public pressure, it will not get included on whatever legislative priorities they are now discussing among themselves.Disability Law & Policy Research Unit, NUI Galwayhttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1258812005-10-27T18:25:10+00:00M Cottonmiriamcotton at eircom dot netIf you are not already aware of the DLPRU at NUI Galway, they are doing great wo...If you are not already aware of the DLPRU at NUI Galway, they are doing great work in this field. You can visit their website here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.nuigalway.ie/law/disability.html">http://www.nuigalway.ie/law/disability.html</a><br />
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In May of this year they released the following statement about the Disability Bill (now passed into law).<br />
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"The members of teh Disability Law & Poicy Research Unit (based in the Faculty of Law, NUI, Galway), have issued a statement to express dismay at the apparent collapse of teh consultative process surrounding the passage of the Disability Bill. The statement goes on to say:<br />
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The absence of trust on the question of resources to underpin the so-called 'rights-based approach' to the provision of services for disabled people is palpable.<br />
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The stark reality for groups that have remained relatively invisible in Irish society for so long is that proviison for them has often been piecemeal and dependent on who can speak with the loudes voice. The lived experience of Irish disabled people and their families is ample testimony to this. This is no longer good enough. In fact, it never was.<br />
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Resourcing is never going to be perfect. But is entirely legitimate that disability groups would require some extra assurance, going beyond political rhetoric, that there will be a floor of basic proviison beneath which no oe will be allowed to fall. Considerations of human dignity alone would strongly point to the need for such minimum provision.<br />
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However, the Disability Bill does not provide any such floor. Additionally, it is understandable that disabled people would call for some extra assurance that there be a process embedded in the law to progressively build on any floor of provision so that the promise of equal citizenship and participation could become a reality. People understand that things don't happen overnight but they need to know that they will happen. The Bill, as it stands, does not foster and suc progressive dynamic.<br />
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Expressing such a 'floor' and 'positive dynamic' in terms of legal rights does no violence to the allocational prerogatives of the State which, of necessity, is charged with balancing many competing calls on resources. Rather, it gives the assurance that disabled people so desperately need that such allocational decisions will, in the future, be made rationally and equitably.<br />
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Likewise, the provision of an adequate enforcement mechanism is not impossible. It is notable that while the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights presumes the availability of a judicial enforcement mechanism, is also considers an appropriate administrative mechanism to be acceptable provided the remedies afforded are 'accessible, affordable, timely and effective'. The remedies suggested in the current Bill would not appear to meet these criteria. The Ombudsman model might indeed be worth exploring but, with respect, not on the basis of the current Irish model. It would appear that the Swedish Disability Ombudsman has much more extensive or effective powers that are certainly worth exploring as a complementary mechanism for the progressive realisation of rights.<br />
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Professor Gerard Quinn<br />
Mary Keys<br />
Shivaun Quinlan<br />
Dr Padraic Kenna<br />
Donncha O Connell<br />
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Disability Law & Policy Research Unit<br />
Faculty of Law<br />
NUI, GalwayI hereby most solemnly pledgehttp://www.indymedia.ie/article/70525#comment1259642005-10-28T13:25:28+00:00iosaf mac d.to try by bestest to drape a flag on the coffin of all the previous commentators...to try by bestest to drape a flag on the coffin of all the previous commentators, unless of course they in good taste refuse "the honour" as tainted.