i would like to answer the oral question tabled by mrs mcguinness by saying that although the responsibility of organising and administering residential care lies with member states the commission is keen to promote the right of people with disabilities to live independently by supporting services in the community as an alternative to living in institutions
by the end of this year the commission will have adopted a european disabilities strategy for the years twenty ten twenty which will set out a coherent framework for implementing the un convention on the rights of persons with disability
providing support for people with disabilities to live independently and de-institutionalising all the systems will be among the priorities
in particular it will highlight the potential role of the structural funds in this regard
priorities for the use of structural funds are of course set at national and regional level but the commission will work with the member states on the exchange of good practice and guidelines as to how best to use those funds in order to promote the personal autonomy and the right of persons with disabilities to live independently
i would also like to mention the european social fund as an instrument to eliminate the barriers to the participation of people with disabilities as equal members of society
the social fund can finance among other things counselling training adapted to the specific needs of people with disabilities rehabilitation job creation in sectors such as social economy special support to promote entrepreneurship among persons with disabilities and awareness raising campaigns to combat discrimination
it can also provide training and retraining of staff to facilitate the transition from institutional care to community-based services
the european regional development fund can be used concurrently to develop social infrastructure to support such new services
in this regard the commission has drawn up a tool kit for using the structural funds in order to ensure access for and non-discrimination against people with disabilities
this tool kit is designed in order to allow the management authorities the intermediate bodies or the project promoters to prepare implement monitor and evaluate the structural fund programmes and projects
