Ms Louise Loughlin:

I would be glad to elaborate on some of those points. Senator van Turnhout commented on how this is really about consent, choice and control. In a nutshell, that is what the NAS model of advocacy seeks to uphold. As Mr. Connolly has said, all advocacy should also be about self-empowerment and capacity building for the individual. One of our functions is to ensure individuals have the information they need to make an informed decision.

Specific questions included how we know we are getting to the people we are supposed to target. That is very much a challenge; there is no doubt about it. NAS has a remit for all disability types and all settings. We have a particular remit with regard to the most vulnerable and isolated. Primarily, this tends to result in a focus on intellectual disability in congregated settings and group homes, but not exclusively. We map out where those people may be based on our knowledge base. Then we undertake a process of engagement with service providers and families to raise awareness about the existence of the advocacy service. Throughout the country the NAS does ongoing promotional work to raise the level of awareness. Furthermore, we reach out to community groups such as community mental health teams, primary care teams and general practitioners to try to raise awareness around advocacy. There may be people living in the community who are hard to reach because they are not connected to services, yet they may be in great need of an advocate. This remains a challenge, one we continually review with a view to building on.

Mr. Connolly referred to leaflets on file and HIQA inspections. Our experience echoes the comment about a poster on a wall or a leaflet on people's files. We have experience of what happens in anticipation of a HIQA inspection or after a HIQA inspection. Often, when this arises, a large number of inquiries or referrals come to our service from the service provider. In such cases we aim to meet the service providers to increase their understanding around advocacy in order that they embroider it into their practice. That is what we are seeking to do. It is very challenging work. We are a small service with a sizable remit, so it is a struggle to manage all of that, but that is our aim.