Blanchardstown group wants Government to face Euro court

THE Blanchardstown Centre for Independent Living (BCIL) has called for the Government to be taken to the European Court of Human Rights after it was claimed that it has been illegally refusing to give disability allowance to people over 66 years of age.

The Ombudsman last week ruled that the Department of Health and the Minister for Health were acting illegally and breaching international human rights principles in refusing the allowance to anyone older than 66 years.

Emily O’Reilly said the department had been acting illegally for 12 years but continued the practice even after it knew it was doing so in 2008.

Michael McCabe, manager of the BCIL, said the allowance was extremely beneficial to those who received it.

“We know the country is in a mess financially but people with disabilities deserve a fair crack of the whip and equality,

? he stated.

“It’s not only illegal what the Government is doing but completely immoral.

“People with disabilities don’t look on daily life as a challenge. All we want is to have the same equal rights as others.

“The Government is breaking an equality law and I believe it should be made accountable for its actions and position in the European Court of Human Rights.

?

The

?¬208.50 monthly allowance is paid to some 4,500 people at an annual cost of

?¬12 million.

Following the ruling by the Ombudsman last week, the Government said it would take legal advice in an effort to resolve the issue in a way

“that is reasonable, sustainable and does not cause undue distress to those in receipt of the allowance

?.

The Department of Health last year promised to review the mobility allowance scheme but said it could not afford to make the changes the Ombudsman recommended.

The Blanchardstown Centre for Independent Living was set up in 1992 for people with disabilities, with the aim of ensuring that those with disabilities achieved independent living, choice and control over their lives and full participation in society as equal citizens.