Ms Lorna McGreehan:

I agree with everything that has been said. At the same time, I am so grateful for my doctors in Dublin. I have always attended them in Dublin, even though I sometimes have to travel 50, 60 or 70 miles. They saved my life. I tried to do it differently and things did not happen, and by that I mean that I tried to do it locally and things did not work out for me. I am exhausted after my day in Dublin, and that is it. I have to forget about everything else because nothing else is done for the rest of the day, or probably the rest of the week, because I am so exhausted.

On the question of personal assistants, I think that I am so independent that I do not need a personal assistant, and that I am not going to be that person. I have never even thought I would be entitled to this, so I have never looked into whether I would be able to get a personal assistant. We live in rural Ireland, away from my family, and there is no bus except the school bus, which passes my door although I am not allowed to use it.

There are so many obstacles. I mentioned assistive technology, which would make things much easier. It would mean I am able to be independent and to walk around the streets of Dublin or to go to the hospital without having to ask. In some hospitals, I have noticed that the signs are positioned way up so some people cannot see them. I have been laughed at and people say, “Oh yes, the last porter was really tall.” Things like that are crazy in this day and age. There are so many simple things that could make people's lives a bit easier. It is also about the knowledge on whether people are entitled to supports and where to go for them. In the private sector, people can apply for workplace adaptive grants and so on. We need more knowledge and more assistance.