Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegates and thank them for coming before us. I am the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on disability services. Since I was appointed approximately a year ago I have been absolutely blue in the face trying to get the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to ratify the convention. Do the delegates think there is anything more I or we, as politicians, could be doing to bring this issue to a head and have the convention ratified? The Minister of State guaranteed that it would be ratified by the end of 2016. We are nearly halfway through 2017 and, even though we are getting closer to ratification, we are still not progressing quickly enough for me. Do the delegates have other suggestions to make to allow their groups to push us, as politicians, to bring the issue to a head?

I have two other observations to make. I am glad that various speakers have brought up the fact that it is not just a health issue. A whole-of-government approach to disability services is essential at this stage. Any motion, Bill or policy being introduced should have to be disability-proofed. Many speakers also referred to the importance of personal assistant hours. Through my work I deal with a lot of groups that work with people with disabilities. The lack of personal assistant hours and the fear of losing a medical card are the two huge issues that keep coming up. I am with the delegates on that one.