Mr. Pat Clarke:

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. The EDF is an umbrella body organisation, which represents more than 100 million EU citizens with disabilities in the EU. It does that in conjunction with members at a national level and at a European level, all across Europe. Our work advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities. The EDF is part of the independent monitoring framework established by the EU to monitor the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD, at the EU level. It does this together with the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency, FRA, the European Ombudsman and the European Parliament. EDF publishes information for its members on their rights within the EU. It has a regular human rights report series, which assesses the extent to which the CRPD is being implemented in Europe. Last year's report focused on Covid-19 and on persons with disabilities. It highlighted the neglect and discrimination faced last year by Europe’s 100 million persons with disabilities as the pandemic ravaged Europe. I will now pass the floor to Ms Naughton.