Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be very quick. It is a huge privilege to have Ms Naughton and Dr. Keogh here with the wealth of knowledge and experience they have. I wish we could download some of that knowledge. It is great to listen to them.

At a time of crisis, all the weaknesses in our systems are shown up and a shining light is thrown on the lack of default provision. The Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the climate change crisis show all of that up very well. The problems are blatant. The job of this committee is to try to make the consideration of disability matters the default, with the needs of our friends and family members who have a disability placed front and centre. I appreciate Dr. Keogh's point about how the media portray people with disabilities during times of crisis as vulnerable, with the suggestion that their situation is almost a hopeless case. That absolutely is not true. This almost ableist attitude makes people with disabilities feel they are not able to get through crises when, in reality, we know it is the complete opposite. They are people like the rest of us and they are not hopeless cases.

We have many great humanitarian organisations in this country, including GOAL, the Irish Red Cross and Concern. Reference was made to our position on the UN Security Council. How far away are we from a situation where disability matters are not confined to a little box in one corner and are instead to the forefront in crisis situations? When will members of the Defence Forces, for example, be trained in rescuing and looking after people with a disability and ensuring all the responses suitable for our friends with disabilities are in place? Are we on a concrete pathway to achieving that or is the progress too piecemeal, without any uniformity to it?

I have much more to ask but I will move on. This has been a very good conversation and I thank the witnesses.