Pádraig Ó Céidigh (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ní bheidh mé ach cúpla nóiméad. Beidh sé an-ghearr. Athróidh mé go Béarla má tá sin ceart go leor.

I thank Ms Barron and Ms Graham for their presentations and I thank Dr. Gerald Craddock, Ms Niamh Fawl and Mr. Hugh Creegan for their time. For me and all members of the committee this is one of the most important, if not the most important, pieces of work to which we can contribute. Our guests' contribution is very important for us.

I wish to make some fundamental points. First, I tried to imagine myself in a wheelchair. Can people try to do that? I live in Connemara. It is not a matter of me simply sitting into the car, driving to Dublin, going to meetings, staying in a hotel and so forth. I am not able to imagine it. I do not thing any of us can put ourselves in that situation. It is not anybody's intention but I believe we are treating part of our community as second class citizens. We should start from there.

I have a little involvement in this area.

I am a patron of Ability West and the Irish Association of Supported Employment, IASE. The term "disability" does not sit right with me because I know several people to whom it is applied who have significantly more ability than I and many others do. They are incredibly talented individuals with many abilities. If we accept that as a framework and try to put ourselves into the shoes of such people, we might be able to begin to imagine some of the challenges they face.

What the committee is trying to do in this regard is probably the most important thing it might achieve and it needs a clear structure, strategy and key performance indicators, KPIs. What are the witnesses' organisations hoping to achieve? I am very respectful of them and appreciate that they are doing their best. What are they trying to achieve, by what time, how much will it cost and what are the challenges? I found the presentations very useful and perhaps they had to be somewhat general. Towards the end of her presentation, Ms Graham began to get more specific, which I appreciate. Perhaps it is because I come from a business background but I wish to know what is to be done, when, by whom and what the key deliverables and challenges are. If those facts are available for the committee to study, interrogate in a positive way and begin using in our deliberations it will give significant meat to what we are trying to achieve. We need the witnesses' help in that regard.

The issue regarding urban and rural as raised by other members is very important. We must do our best to have balance. Imagine if one were trying to go from A to B and had to give 24 hours' notice before travelling. It would not be easy. I appreciate that the witnesses are doing their best. This issue must be pushed as a very high priority. It is very important to have KPIs and a business plan and to know what is to be delivered, when, by whom, how much it will cost and what the challenges are. I would value the witnesses' comments in that regard.