Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

Before I respond to the questions, members might indulge me. I feel strongly that Ireland has had a stagnant history in relation to disabled people. Our rights have been slow to be fulfilled. We are not just recipients of services.

I am glad the Senator mentioned employment because we are also contributors to the economy, business, arts and culture. Without the full application of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, including the optional protocols, employment for 90% of disabled people is more of a wish than a reality. One should look at the progress around women in education and employment, gay people and the way the removal of stigma and shame has allowed marginalised people to move forward. Indeed, I am delighted that Senator Eileen Flynn, a Traveller, has managed to find employment in the Oireachtas. I say again that, in the current climate, human rights are about recognising the gaps in legislation but also acknowledging that Covid-19 has absolutely, like my colleague from the NDA said, affected our lives. This is particularly so in rural Ireland and particularly for Travellers and Roma, who are living in deplorable conditions. The idea of education or employment is far away from our everyday reality.

In the current climate around children's educational and therapeutic needs, there is a real fear from parents. I am an aunt of several young people with disabilities of varying degrees and I have already seen regression in people who need specific educational interventions.

I will provide one more input and this is the reason I am here today. Covid-19 has meant there is a high propensity or possibility of violence against disabled people. We have seen it in the context of gender-based violence and I hear from my colleagues, my networks and my friends that this is a serious issue. We are not just talking about enclosed spaces; we are talking about family homes, institutions, nursing homes and other communal areas. It is not just physical violence. It is financial and it is threats of corrosion of rights around food and daily choices. I hope the committee realises what it is like out there for us. I thank the committee.