Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-04-26-Speech-4-032"
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"en.20070426.5.4-032"2
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".
Mr President, a society is judged by its attitude towards the weak, sick and disabled. That is why all actions aimed at providing support for people who are disabled, ill or who have difficulties in adapting to their surroundings, not only prevent social exclusion or poverty, but also foster social integration, as well as improving the quality of life and the mental and physical health of people who are in some way disabled, allowing them to lead a fulfilling life.
All action taken to provide more information and increase awareness of disability and which includes providing disabled access to buildings, educational opportunities, reducing red tape in the support system and increasing funding, especially for disabled women and children, should be a priority for programmes at a national and European level. It is important to improve access to the labour market, including Internet access, to make use of tax incentives aimed at promoting the employment of disabled people and to make working time more flexible, especially for mothers with disabled children.
It is equally important to make the institutions more accessible, to improve the monitoring of how aid is allocated, to provide physiotherapy services and psychological support across the board and to increase the number of certified therapists and instructors.
However, providing support and care for disabled people, which helps their physical and personal development, should not encourage selfishness. The problem, especially in my country and in other poor countries which have joined the European Union, is not so much a lack of desire to help people who are in some way physically or mentally disabled, but rather the fact that there is poverty and unemployment, a lack of funds for transport, wheelchairs and other equipment which, together with measures to make buildings accessible for the disabled, would facilitate mobility.
Nearly 15% of Poles are disabled. These people face many problems on a daily basis, in spite of an extensive network of NGOs and legions of volunteers who want to dedicate their time to helping others. In Poland, there is a lack of schools for autistic children, there are not enough reading materials written in Braille for the blind and poor, disabled people cannot afford specially adapted cars. In addition to this, almost all tax relief has been abolished for people who already live in poverty, sometimes even extreme poverty, as a result of low pensions.
The previous socialist governments in particular followed macroeconomic goals in their approach to disabled people. They abolished family-friendly tax relief and significantly reduced disability benefits. This happened when the country was adapting its legislation to fall in line with legislation in the European Union, where neo-liberal utilitarianism, rather than human worth and dignity, is what really counts.
The majority of mentally disabled children attend special rather that mainstream schools, which does not help them to integrate. That is why even the most well-drafted and meticulous reports dealing with the issue of disability will remain theoretical entities, with no opportunities for practical implementation, in view of the greed of the wealthy and the fact that moral values and principles have been replaced by market laws and the free movement of capital in one direction, namely from the poor to the rich. That is why we appeal, once again, for solidarity. We need solidarity not only on paper in the Union's documents, but in the decisions and actions taken. We especially appeal to the decision-makers, who are responsible for safeguarding our health and our society, for solidarity."@en1
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