The Cabinet is due to discuss a number of proposed changes to the Disability Bill tomorrow which it hopes will help win support from lobby groups and people with disabilities.
The legislation, which deals with the provision of services for the disabled, has attracted widespread criticism from disability groups since it was published last year.
While the proposed amendments are expected to address criticism over issues such as the narrow definition of disability in the Bill and concerns at the status of a right to a needs assessment, they are not expected to compromise on the core principles of the legislation.
The Government is anxious to try to head off the level of criticism which resulted in the last Disability Bill being withdrawn in the months leading up to the 2002 general election.
The proposed amendments are expected to be made when the legislation is debated at committee stage in the Oireachtas next week.
However, they are unlikely to satisfy the more strident critics of the legislation.
At the annual conference of Namhi, a group which provides support to more than 28,000 intellectually disabled people, delegates voted at the weekend for the legislation to be "scrapped in its entirety". The motion read: "This Bill is so fundamentally flawed that merely asking for it to be amended is futile. This Bill must be replaced with rights-based legislation."
The legislation should also seek to avoid restricting the rights of those with special needs to go to the courts to have their rights vindicated.
Namhi's general secretary, Deirdre Carroll, said: "It [the vote] expresses the anger and frustration of our members.
" We made a detailed submission on the Bill and have heard nothing back from Government sources. Unless it's substantially amended the Bill will prove unworkable and unacceptable."
Delegates also passed a motion calling on the Minister for Health to ensure new standards for disability services are implemented without delay. It said standards would "safeguard the dignity and respect of all people with an intellectual disability who use services" and help end the practice in some residential services of preparing people for bed at an "inappropriate time", causing them to lose out on social and recreational activities.
The annual conference also heard of obstacles in providing access to appropriate secondary education for children with special needs.
Marie Garry, the mother of a 15-year-old with Down's Syndrome, said the lack of appropriate services meant the transition from national to secondary school was "almost impossible" for a child with special needs.
"The thinking is all wrong. Our children are getting a great start with early intervention, playschools, then national schools.But when you hit secondary school with huge numbers our children get lost and are not shown the respect that they deserve," she said.
"They are streamed into classes where there are a number of pupils with emotional, social and discipline problems. This is totally unsuitable for them. . ."
A consultation group representing people from the disability sector is due to meet Government officials next Friday.
