Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Happy international women's week to everybody. I thank all of the witnesses for sharing their lived experiences with us. Regrettably, we know that disabled women and girls face multiple and accumulating discriminations. Most worrying are the examples the witnesses have given around sexual violence and the inability to access domestic violence supports, access to medical screening and healthcare, and dignified independent living conditions. These public services should be available to all, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or disability.

To make the best use of the short time we have, I ask the witnesses to tell us one concrete intervention, which would make the biggest difference to the lives of girls and women with disabilities, that they would recommend, so we can do everything to make that happen through this committee and through the relevant Ministers and their officials, who we can pursue consistently until there is progress. We need this committee to have an impact. I would love to hear from all of the witnesses what we should be doing most urgently.