Ms Diane Hill:

I thank the committee for inviting me to speak. Mr. Ciarán Delaney has been a fantastic advocate of everything we at Now Group do. I hope my address will provide a flavour of what we do and how we think it could be beneficial for Ireland.

I am the director of business development in Now Group, which was founded more than 16 years ago. Our main mission is to support people with learning difficulties and autism to gain employment with a future. We look at many business opportunities, as a social enterprise, but everything we do is about finding opportunities for our participants.

I would like to introduce the committee to just a minute, JAM, cards. Hopefully, they have been circulated and members will get a chance to look at them. The JAM card originated from our social group of participants. The social group wanted to look at how its members could find employment, which is our main aim and which helps to create independent lives. As part of this we were asked to devise something that was simple and discreet but that made others aware of the need for compassion when dealing with particular customers. One of the main problems was transport links. They play a big part in helping people find employment, and also in promoting well-being in everything they do. We actively encourage this. We co-designed the JAM card. Initially, we wanted it to have many features to ensure that it did what we wanted it to do. We learned a lot from that, because our participants pushed back and said that they did not want the card to do more that was necessary. It is a "just a minute" card.

Our mission is to create a brand that people will become aware of so that users of the card do not need to explain their disabilities at every turn. Why should we label people at all times? The bus drivers' union came together and decided that it needed support on how it could provide assistance for people with whom there is a communication barrier. The JAM card was born from this discussion. The bus drivers' union supported us in its development, and since 2011, 10,000 cards have entered circulation. As a result of that, we developed an app, which now has 1,000 users. The app provides a voice for people with learning difficulties and autism because they are able to rate the customer service they experience on bus and train journeys and in any retail establishment they go into and share that experience with others. We have received fantastic user feedback, primarily on social media, where users could share experience with each other.

Community engagement has been a big factor in the success of the JAM card. We have now expanded to cover people with dementia, brain injuries, speech impediments and other communication barriers we have become aware of. JAM cards assist people suffering with those problems. We have a video explaining how the cards work but, unfortunately, it cannot be played. I would like to circulate it after the meeting.