The Hon. Upali Pannilage - Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I highly value the motion by Hon. Sugath Wasantha de Silva on employment for persons with disabilities, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond as the subject Minister.

¶ 02 The present Government’s core policy is building an inclusive society. We belong to different cultures, religions, ethnicities, regions—North, East, West, South—and some are disabled, others not. Our task is to lay the foundation for inclusivity.

¶ 03 Accordingly, we are engaging in policy decisions to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The primary law is the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, No. 28 of 1996. It now requires updating. A panel of experts has been working for over three months to modernize it.

¶ 04 We also have a large community using sign language. Two months ago, I took a Cabinet paper to create a national policy and draft legislation on sign language; Cabinet has approved preparing the Bill. The 2003 national disability policy also needs updating; we have commenced that, along with a five-year national action plan.

¶ 05 On social protection, we raised the monthly allowance for low-income persons with disabilities from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 10,000, and doubled the beneficiary count from 137,000 to 310,000. We increased the grant for assistive devices from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 50,000; the education grant for children with disabilities in low-income families from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000; self-employment support from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000; and the housing grant from Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 700,000. We are also facilitating self-employment and private sector placements.

¶ 06 Through these measures we are building the groundwork for an inclusive society and affirming the employment rights of persons with disabilities. Thank you.

¶ 07 Parliament adjourned accordingly until 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 09th July 2025.