Dr. Joanne McCarthy:

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor because the question of data is an issue I wanted to raise. Deputy Tully asked how we would know we were successful at the end of this term. The most important thing to remember is that we do not have the baseline data to understand how we will know. We have it on some things within the disabilities services programme but there is no knowledge of the number of people who require a personal assistant or home support. We do not have these data. One of the key successes that would give a foundation in the world of UNCRPD is having the right data and understanding them.

This is also linked to the question on housing. Often people may get a house but have difficulty accessing the personal supports to enable them to live independently in the house. How do we marry data from various Departments to ensure the most comprehensive person-centred responses can be delivered? We need to tease out some of the challenges on what data we have and what data we need. The census has been very important but it has gaps. We use data from the survey on income and living conditions, SILC, but sometimes it is very difficult to disaggregate it. We really need to think about what are the data we need. If we look at what is in the draft State's report on the UNCRPD we will see this. Without baseline data it will be very hard to track success or otherwise over the coming years. I encourage the committee to think about the data deficit because it is very important.

The housing issue is critical. Consultation has been quite good. Housing advisory groups have been established in most local authorities. Sometimes they work very well and sometimes they do not.

In terms of very good models, it is almost like a systemic change within local authorities. There are different models. We in the Disability Federation of Ireland are supporting a model in Wicklow, which is powerful. We would welcome the opportunity to come back and talk to the members about that. It is where we work with local authorities to consider how we plan in an inclusive and mainstream way for the inclusion of the needs of people with disabilities within that county in the services we plan. There is a definite need to consider the role that local authorities play because when we think about health we are almost pulled by the nose in terms of the €2.2 billion that is in disability services. However, while that is a lot of money it funds 9,000 places within residential services, allows 27,000 people to access day services,as well as providing a small amount of respite and a few other services. Most people with disabilities never get near that. The role and the importance of local authority planning for their population, which might include 13.5% of people with a disability, is critical. We need to think that through and bring that over to other Oireachtas committees to ensure they also ask those questions in a mainstream way.