Ms Jacqui Browne:

I very much welcome Senator Flynn's contribution and understanding despite the fact that she is only 30-odd years of age. Fair dues to her. We respect that immensely - no better woman than Senator Flynn, who has years of fighting on behalf of the Traveller community behind her. We have an awful lot in common. One of our thalidomide survivors comes from a Traveller background so that is very important and I know it is very close to the Senator's heart.

We have answered some of the Senator's questions about how we resolve the issues around access to transport and hospitalisation. I also live in rural Ireland. I live in County Kerry in the south west, which is the guts of 200 miles from Dublin. Most of my medical interventions had to happen in Dublin. Some happened abroad. I spent my childhood in a special setting in Dublin. I spent two and a half years in a school for the deaf so my family and I know all about being isolated from your family in a residential setting.

There is a lot of history that we can share but the Irish Thalidomide Association is much more focused on the here and now and the future. We all own our history so we can do what we wish with it but I am much more focused on us living the rest of our lives as best we can with dignity, independence and respect for our rights and being able to enjoy those rights. Under Article 5, it is not just about securing our rights. We are meant to be able to enjoy rights. That is the core principle behind non-discrimination legislation. This is very specific - having the right to enjoy your life. We are getting too old to be fighting all the time. The committee's support is hugely appreciated. We keep saying "please go fight the good fight and represent us". We did it for Covid. We removed walls of bureaucracy. We removed barriers left, right and centre to address Covid. Why can we not do the same for people experiencing discrimination, trauma and an ongoing uphill struggle? It is very simple.