Ms Ailish Ryan:

I am thankful for the invitation and this opportunity. I am now going to make Ms Dina McAnaspie's contribution on her behalf. It reads:

I attend a day service three days per week and work part-time two days per week. I work in a bar on two-hour shifts, that is, four hours per week. I really enjoy working and my goal is to work in a full-time job in retail in the future. However, I have come across many things that have made getting a job very difficult for me. When I was younger, I attended a special school. There was no career guidance in my special school, so I did not get the same advice and help that other students get in mainstream schools across the country. As well as this, there was no option to go into transition year in my school. This means that I did not get the chance to get work experience in transition year the way that students in mainstream schools do. When I was in school, I did get to have some work experience working in a charity shop. This was a really great experience and it gave me a taste of what having a job was like. I also got to experience what it is like to have a job. I believe there should be more work experience opportunities available for people with intellectual disabilities.

When I left school I attended a day service. I really enjoy attending my day service but at some point I want to be able to move on and get a full-time job. I want to work just like everyone else. At the moment, the staff members and my key workers help me with applying for jobs. They help me put together my CVs and send them to workplaces. It can be very hard to get a job, however, and it is also very hard to get the work experience one needs to get a job.

One of the problems that many people with intellectual disabilities come up against is that if we get a full-time job and leave the day service, there is no guarantee that those services will hold our places. If things do not work out in a job, some people are left with nothing afterwards. I feel that people with disabilities should be supported to get a job. They should be supported during the job, if needed, and also supported if things do not work out. At the moment, the system puts people off trying to get employment in case they lose their supports and services. I thank the committee members for their time.