A Labour Party TD has claimed the Disability Bill is a "shoddy, mean-spirited piece of legislation that denies greater equality to people with disabilities".
The party's deputy for Cork North Central, Ms Kathleen Lynch, said the consequences of the legislation will be "a cumbersome, bureaucratic nightmare for thousands of people".
Ms Lynch was speaking after disability groups this week called on the Government to make significant amendments to the Bill.
At a public meeting in Dublin's RDS on Tuesday, disability campaigners said the Bill was seriously inadequate and would force disabled people into a bureaucratic nightmare in the search for essential services.
Ms Lynch said: "In the Programme for Government, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats promised to introduce legislation that was based on a commitment to rights for a group of Irish citizens who have been on the receiving end of charity for most of their lives."
"Yet, none of the rights promised in the Programme for Government are contained in the Bill," she added. "The culture of dependence and charity must end."
She described the fight for right for people with disability as the last great civil rights campaign.
The Disability Bill is being debated in the Dáil, and the Minister of State, Mr Frank Fahey, has said his Department would consider any written submissions.