We are gathered here to do much more than launch some new state bodies and transfer responsibilities between different groups. The changes which become effective today represent what is a dramatic shift in the State's approach to providing services for people with disabilities. The providers of basic State services will, from today on, have the concerns of people with disabilities as part of their core work.
Disability is no longer an area to be dealt with by someone else.
I want today to be seen as the moment when the State played its part in ending the old medical model of disability. Today is a red letter day in the struggle to bring the hopes and aspirations of people with disabilities away from the sidelines and into the mainstream. The establishment of the National Disability Authority and Comhairle and the mainstreaming of services within other state agencies has been a major project. It has required shifts in attitudes, great professionalism and a strong collective will. Progress has not always been easy, particularly because everybody involved has been breaking new ground, but the effort has been worth it.