Mr. Leo Kavanagh:

I thank the committee for allowing me to make my contribution and that of my DPO, Physical Impairment Ireland, PII, to today's meeting on the implementation of the UNCRPD. This opportunity has been a long time coming for me. Therefore, pardon me if I sound a little emotional.

I am the national secretary of PII. I am a 55-year-old citizen of this State with physical impairments and I am from County Laois. PII is a national voluntary DPO founded on Monday, 29 March 2021 by physically disabled people, family members, carers and advocates of persons with physical impairments from a number of different counties. Our DPO is made up of members with differing physical impairments, including people with congenital disabilities like myself, those being, disabilities that exist at birth or shortly thereafter; amputees or persons possibly awaiting amputations due to accidents, illnesses or disability; and wheelchair users, mostly following accidents, illnesses or disability.

In PII's opinion, a DPO is one that is managed, regulated and guided by people with disabilities, our families, carers and advocates. It must be open to everyone in its particular constituency, as required by general comment 7, paragraph 11 of the UNCRPD. The members of PII have agreed that a clear majority of our DPO must have a physical impairment. Following legal opinion sought, DPOs are the only representative organisations in respect of disability matters under general comment 7, paragraph 10 of the UNCRPD, and I would like to remind the committee that DPOs are at the heart of the convention, as per general comment 7, paragraph 1.

One of the main aims of PII is to engage with our Government on the UNCRPD in addressing all human rights issues faced by physically impaired people and their families and carers. Furthermore, one of our objectives is the full implementation of all aspects of the UNCRPD in our State without any further delay. The members of PII see the UNCRPD as an agreement on the human rights of all people with disabilities, but also their families and carers. The Government signed the convention in March 2007. However, it only ratified the convention 11 years later in March 2018. Ireland was the last country in the EU to do so. In doing so, the State has agreed to stick to what it has agreed under the UNCRPD.

A citizen of this State may make an individual complaint to the UN under the UNCRPD's optional protocol. Strangely, our Government decided not to ratify the optional protocol until 2020 when it was due to make its first report to the UN. The State's report was finally published on 10 November 2021, much to the annoyance of many people with disabilities. To rub salt in the wound, the optional protocol has still to be ratified almost four years after the UNCRPD was finally ratified by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

In the opinion of PII, the State must ensure that people with disabilities can access and exercise all the rights listed in the UNCRPD. The Government and public organisations must now work alongside people with disabilities so that we can use transport and access buildings, matters that usually do not concern able-bodied people. They must produce information in a format that people with disabilities can use and understand. The State must ensure that people with disabilities have an adequate standard of living and enough money to live on, especially in the current economic climate. People with disabilities must have the choice of where they live. The Government must organise a register of all DPOs, as required under general comment 7, paragraph 61 of the UNCRPD, in conjunction with people with impairments without any further delay. The State must provide core official funding to all DPOs and offer all possible supports to allow them to develop and flourish. In 2022, DPOs have to be prioritised, distinguished and involved in the design development process as regards all of the State's policies and plans to confirm that they are disability proofed. This must be done solely by people with disabilities, their families or carers. The State must highlight, prioritise and distinguish all DPOs in all consultations related to disability and closely consult with and involve people with disabilities in all processes, as per Article 4.3 and general comment 7, paragraph 13 of the UNCRPD.

Physical Impairment Ireland, the national DPO of which I am proud to call myself a co-founder, met last Monday night, as we have for more than the past year.

My physically impaired friends and colleagues have requested that I respectfully inform this important committee that a person who requires a made-to-measure wheelchair should not have to wait six months for it. People with mobility issues that require an ordinary wheelchair should not have to wait six weeks before receiving one from the HSE. Medical cards should be made available to all people with disabilities and they should not "lose" them if they take up either part-time or full-time employment. Furthermore the difficulties accessing health services and supports for people with physical impairments is becoming a nightmare. The cost of prosthetic limbs has increased by 30% since Brexit and the cost of a silicone sock used by amputees is now about €1,000 in some cases. That equates to five weeks' invalidity pension in this country. Just reflect on that for a few seconds. These silicone socks protect the skin, absorb perspiration from a residual limb, absorb friction, cushion impact, compensate for shrinkage or swelling of the residual limb and provide a way to adjust to fit the socket. These socks are not a fashion statement they are a necessity. The tendering process for mobility aids and supports such as artificial limbs and devices such as wheelchairs must be looked at immediately. Since Brexit the prices of limbs and wheelchairs have skyrocketed and many people with physical impairments cannot afford them. However, they most certainly cannot afford to be without them. Markets for them will have to be sought in mainland Europe.

Our voluntary disabled person organisation, DPO, often discusses the lack of access to employment for people with physical disabilities. In many cases in 2022 our well-educated members still fail interviews due to a visible disability. That is just a fact. When a person with a visible disability asks for feedback as to why they were unsuccessful prospective employers unfortunately still refuse to engage. For many people with physical disabilities there are barriers to participation in political life in this country. There must be sufficient supports for people with physical impairments trying to enter politics. The lack of people with disabilities in both national and local politics is staggering. Perhaps the Government and members of this committee need to start seriously looking at a quota system for people with disabilities to encourage them to enter politics as there is a serious under-representation of people with a living experience of disability in political and decision-making roles in this country. DPOs are too often discounted and at best our expertise in having living experiences as people with disabilities is overlooked. Since 2022, based on the findings of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, the committee has the power to make significant change to the lives of more than 250,000 people in this country. I ask members to please use the power bestowed upon them wisely. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.