John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The only comment I wish to make is that for the public this is not a big deal but it is in terms of the future for people with disabilities, with three committees of the Oireachtas meeting together and listening, which they do not normally do, because so many of the tricky bits are between Departments and agencies. The more that happens, the better. I particularly thank Ciarán and Doreen who put all the bits and pieces together. I should mention that Senator Alice-Mary Higgins worked on the activation piece in January and matters moved on from there.

We have a model here that we can tweak. I am delighted. I know some but not all of the witnesses. I am looking forward to listening to their contributions and trying to figure out where the gaps are so that we can prepare a report that is people centred and that points to the snares that need to be untangled. That will bring us into the budget cycle and next year. It is all about implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at this stage.