Ms Maria Ní Fhlatharta:

On the issue of disabled persons organisations and ensuring that disabled voices are heard in policymaking, something that has been particularly significant in our community is the longevity and success of those organisations. There are incredible disabled persons organisations operating at local and national levels that are entirely unsupported by the Government. Predominantly when we fund civil society, we do not fund disabled persons organisations, or at least not to the same extent. We prioritise organisations that are often led by service providers which have a direct conflict of interest. This is probably most notable in the case of the National Platform of Self-Advocates, which is made up of revolutionary advocates who should be celebrated and supported but have spent the last three years fighting from month to month to exist. The fact that core funding does not exist for them in that circumstance massively disadvantages people with an intellectual disability. We are missing out on a key voice in policymaking. Grassroots activism requires access to supports, so one could require interpretation, personal assistant support and so on. When they do not exist it is hard for disabled people to be involved at every level.