Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending, giving their insight and answering the questions as best they can. I thank members for attending the briefing this morning and tuning into the meeting. It is hugely important that we continue this engagement. The frustration of members is clear. The restrictions over the past six months mean we are finding it more difficult to do our work and continue the work that is in place.

A number of points came across this morning. One is the importance of a whole-of-government approach or a direction from the centre of government in terms of how we are going to implement change and ensure disability is kept to the forefront. I thank the witnesses for the invitation they issued to us. We would dearly love to meet with them in their places of work and see what is being done. We commit to doing that the very minute restrictions are lifted.

Another point that came across is that there is much work to be done to knit everything together. There is a sense in some arms of the State that there should be a centralised model or approach. Likewise, we get the sense from the various section 39 organisations with which we have engaged that the approach should be streamlined. I am not sure that is the right way to do it, because differences can be useful. For instance, the point that was made about the different types of schools shows that things can all work under the one umbrella provided the policy is right.

In my view, the fundamental issue underpinning all of this is the question of resources. We have seen how the limited change there has been since the budget in reversing cuts and putting in further funding has somewhat eased the situation. Several members spoke about how the provision of therapies and assessments of need is in an absolutely shambolic state right now. We need to advocate on behalf of the people who need those services. The witnesses' evidence has shown us that there is a lot of work to do. The new word for my vocabulary is "implementitis". It is a concept we need to take away from this meeting. We have had enough talk about what we need to do. Certain Parts of the Disability Act that was passed almost a generation ago have still not been enacted. These are issues we need to tackle as a committee. We must have a whole-of-government approach. Our hope is that we will have representatives from every Department before us to discuss how they are implementing the UNCRPD and making changes in how they deal with disability issues. That is our hope and ambition for the service.

I thank the witnesses for their engagement. We look forward to further engagement with them as we try to advance the lived experience of people with disabilities. We need to keep that at the forefront. On the point about the title of the committee, that was decided on by the committee itself. We will continue our work on disability matters and I thank witnesses sincerely for their help in this regard. I wish them well in their continued good work and look forward to further discussions with them. I would appreciate if members could remain online for a brief private discussion.