Ms Catherine Naughton:

I think it is even worse than what was said about Covid-19 because not only were people left out in the lockdown, at the beginning in a number of European countries that tried to go for that herd immunity approach, the public health announcements actually said this is just like a flu for most people and the only people at risk of dying are older people or people with pre-existing conditions. People's lives were totally devalued. In some cases we saw institutions where staff were shipped off to hospital to be treated and the residents were left behind. It showed us that however far advanced we think we are, we are actually a lot further behind.

The joint committee can play a very important role in showing this example of dialogue, planning and discussing together. I realise I did not answer one of Senator Flynn's questions about Ukrainians with disabilities arriving to the country. It could be very useful to have a conversation at some point with Ukrainians with disabilities who have arrived to try to find ways to show a good example. Ireland has a very important diplomatic role in the world and could show a great example of how to receive refugees with disabilities in a time of war by identifying who they are, providing the support they need and helping them, during the time they are with us, to participate in all parts of Irish society, including the economy. Ireland has done a great job in welcoming people from Ukraine to the country, so to continue and enrich the ongoing discussion on the emergency, perhaps the committee can dig deeper when it comes to those people and families with disabilities to show some good practice for the future and how this can be improved. As the Vice Chair said at the beginning, there are wars going on all over the world and displacement of people is happening. Perhaps this is an area Ireland can strive to deal with really well.