Ms Lynn Fitzpatrick:

I completely understand why St. Mary of the Angels would be completely inappropriate for somebody like Ms Flanagan who can be here today and articulates so well. I commend her on the work she does. Can we not just open our minds a bit to see that the disability umbrella is enormous and that my brother and people like him in St. Mary of the Angels are in the tiny minority? In trying to look after what is right for the majority, is there not a danger that we are imposing something on the minority that is not right for them?

I know Ms Flanagan said she disagrees about having congregated settings which is fair enough; it is her opinion. I would not be here today if so many disability advocates did not share that exact view. However, I did my best. I spent many hours writing that speech to try to paint a picture without pictures of what Bernard's life is like and what that place is like. Can she honestly tell me that it is an institution or that it is inappropriate? Does it sound inappropriate? People with fragile health are thriving and happy there and are not relying on medication or anything. I know somebody there who tried community living several times but it did not work for them. Their life was saved by coming to St. Mary of the Angels. These things can also be true.

I am not trying to take anything away from the majority of people with disabilities, but it appears that they are trying to take something away from us. It is not because I am afraid of communities or all these things that have been said about me. It is not because we are all institutionalised and do not know any better. I know what is in the community. I know what is in his community. I plead with committee members to come to St. Mary of the Angels and see it with their own eyes and meet the people. They are all behind me today. We cannot see their families, but they are watching and counting on me in this very difficult battle for us.

Ms Flanagan mentioned how exhausting it is. I can tell the committee how exhausting it has been for my family and all the families trying to fight this policy on our own. To me it clearly violates many aspects of the UN convention, which is the topic of this meeting. I plead with everyone to step back and try to take another look.