Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome witnesses and thank them for their contributions. I have a few questions. On this committee, I feel frustrated that we have a segregation or compartmentalisation of Government functions. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth seems to have to have to pull extra weight. I do not see other Departments rowing in as efficiently and as properly as they should be. I would ask the members of the Senate, from their experience, how did they get the segregation, the roles of national government, central government and local government, to all to take their responsibilities in relation to people with disabilities as a default base level in how they go about all their policy duties? Second, when they ratified the optional protocol together with the convention, was that a basis to help that along? When they had the optional protocol in tandem, did that help make progress in respect of the segregation of responsibility?

I have a general question on the cost of disability. There is definitely an argument for a payment for the cost of disability. We all agree that having a disability costs extra to survive because we, as a society, put up so many barriers to people taking part. It does cost extra. I would like to hear people's opinions on how we re-balance that with a payment to help on the cost of disabilities.