The government had committed €200,000 in its last budget for an educational scheme to strengthen inclusive education, Nationalist MP Charló Bonnici said yesterday. Fifty-five learning support assistants were employed in private schools to help 86 children with special needs.
Both the government and local councils are still flouting the law by not providing accessibility on their property
Mr Bonnici was speaking during the debate in second reading of the Various Laws (Disability Matters) (Amendment) Act, highlighting the fact that the education sector had developed through the implementation of various proposals. He also said that 150 autistic children and 83 blind children also benefited from other schemes.
However, support should not stop in the secondary schools and persons with disability were encouraged to continue with their studies by undergoing various courses, such as Pathway, a programme provided by MCAST. Courses were also provided at adult resource centres.
At the University of Malta, a committee was working to help the integration of persons with disability, who could now access all courses.
Mr Bonnici said he shared the concern of parents of persons with disability about their children’s future after their death. The country provided a lot of help but still had to offer more choices to these persons to be able to live an independent life. The government should make sure that these persons have a dignity.
The UN convention, which the Bill sought to ratify, offered people with disability non-discrimination, equal opportunities and respect for their capabilities.
Mr Bonnici complained that both the government and local councils were still flouting the law by not providing accessibility on their property.
However, accessibility in public transport had been attained.
Progress has also been registered in employment where ETschemes were encouraging the private sector to employ persons with disability.
However, employment for persons with mental disabilities had still a long way to go. Mr Bonnici said that these persons should be given more flexible working hours.
Health Minister Joe Cassar said the government was committed to make all the necessary changes to give effect to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, which required measures so that people with a disability would live as any other person.The convention gave a clear direction towards concrete implementation of systems and services that would respect the right of access of such services by persons with a disability.
Everyone should be committed towards such people and this should not emerge out of a sense of charity but because of their rights.
At present, persons with a disability needed not adapt to their disability. Those who suffered from mobility problems were provided with transport services and several other tools. Moreover, professionals also visited communities to help mentally disabled people.
The government had strived for mentally disabled people to be treated within the community. It had also worked to increase other services for them.
Jean Pierre Farrugia (PN) expressed complete agreement with the new, wider definition of the word “disability”, which he said was very satisfactory, precise and specific.
There were about 11,500 persons registered with the KNPD, half of whom were senior citizens and resided in Cottonera, Valletta, Marsa and Floriana.
The definition meant one could exclude disability brought about by disease.
If the KNPD could concentrate on the more serious cases the personalised care could be enhanced. But it was probably making the mistake of wanting to help everybody with any disability, including those that could be reversed surgically or with medicines, rather than people who had been disabled after some accident and without any possibility to walk ever again. Efforts must concentrate on serious disabilities, not including the terminal.
The blue sticker for vehicles of people with disability was so rarely used that the number of holders for parking purposes should be restricted to those who really need them. It is important to quantify the degree of disability, he added.
It had been divulged that only 266 disabled people lived in institutions. This showed how the Maltese really took care of disabled members.
There should be better filtering of applicants for special ID cards.
Dr Farrugia said that in recent years the Housing Authority seemed to have slowed down its priority for disabled people to continue to live at home.
NGO Dar il-Kaptan at Mtarfa, which offered respite opportunities for family members while the disabled continued to be well looked after, had made a sensible proposal to the SAC that rebates on utility tariffs for such families should be diverted to the NGO for the duration of the stay.