Uachtarán na hÉireann
Mrs. Mary McAleese
Áras an Uachtaráin
Phoenix Park,
Dublin 8
A Uachtaráin,
I write to you as a last resort in an effort to request that you do not sign the Disability Bill 2004 into law. As an Irish Citizen of the Irish State, and as a disabled person I ask that you refer this Bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality under Article 40.3 of Bunreacht na hÉireann under which the State "guarantees in its laws to respect, and as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate the personal rights of the citizen". The Disability community has repeatedly informed Government through the established consultation process that this Bill is totally flawed and fundamentally inadequate, without the points listed below
1. There must be a clear and unequivocal right to anassessment of need, which must not be resource-dependent2. The services identified in the assessment of need foran individual must be provided within a reasonable and agreed timeframe3 .The Bill must provide for clear protection ofdisability-specific resources4 The provisions regarding Sectoral Plans must takeaccount of the wider needs of people with disabilities. Each governmentdepartment with relevant services must provide a Sectoral Plan5 .The Bill must provide for a clear statutory duty on allgovernment departments and public bodies to include people with disabilitiesin their plans and services with appropriate monitoring and accountabilityA Uachtaráin, as you can see the Government have railroaded the said Bill through both Houses of the Oireachtas, allowing little opportunity the Opposition parties to put amendments for change to the Bill.
A Uachtaráin, if you sign this Bill you will be going against the wishes of the 495,000 persons with disabilities in this State and their families.
Yours sincerely,