Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for their presentations and for attending the meeting. In its recent report, Ensuring Independent Living and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the committee recommended that additional consultation should take place with DPOs. Like everybody else, we are also learning the difference between a properly constituted DPO and some other representative organisations. A proper register is needed so that public bodies that wish to carry out consultations, which they should do on all issues, know whom they should contact.

The term "disability, participation and consultation networks" suggests that is a body people should go to. However, it is not made up of DPOs. Therefore, that needs to be reconstituted or a different body put in its place to represent DPOs so that if different bodies need to consult on issues, they know they are recommended to whichever body represents the people they need to speak to.

I was struck by a point Ms Browne made about consultation. Consultation is not enough; they need to be involved in the decision making. Many disabled people to whom I have spoken may be involved with housing strategic policy committees, SPCs, or transport organisations. They meet and give their recommendations which are subsequently simply ignored. It needs to be more than just a box-ticking exercise for these bodies to say they have consulted with disabled people and then they can move on and do their own thing anyway. These public bodies need to be held to account to ensure that when they consult with DPOs and get recommendations they implement those recommendations. I would be interested in any thoughts the witnesses have on that how and how it can be improved.

What is the best way for children with disabilities to be represented? Is it to have a DPO of parents of children with disabilities?