Ms Fiona Weldon:

Good morning everybody. I thank the committee for the opportunity to come and share our experiences and observations regarding the citizens’ assembly recommendations on care and social protection in relation to disabled people. We speak to you today as disabled women and not women with a disability. This is a social and political rights stance. Our impairments do not disable society though and this understanding will underpin our contributions today.

We are acutely aware that disabled people live in a world that systematically excludes us from the ordinary rhythms of daily living. We welcome the recommendations the citizens' assembly has made to tackle this issue but disabled people as a whole experience inequalities that have a detrimental effect on both our life chances and quality of life. We feel very strongly that we cannot address gender equality unless we address the reality that disabled women need to be, and feel equal to, their non-disabled counterparts. Some 13.8% of women in Ireland are disabled - that’s a lot of us. Disabled people are not a homogenous group. We are all intersectional. We hold many identities such as gender, race, belonging to an ethnic group, social class, religion, sexual orientation and ability and these identities can overlap with each another. Understanding intersectionality with regard to disability is essential for the creation of appropriate laws and policies and the design and delivery of accessible, inclusive services. Each and every one of us has our own unique experiences of discrimination and we must consider everything and anything that can marginalise us. Article 6 of the UNCRPD states disabled women experience multiple instances of discrimination. Ireland, having ratified the UNCRPD, must take measures to ensure disabled women have their human rights and fundamental freedoms adhered to and our government must put in place empowerment measures to ensure full participation in everyday living including education, employment, and family living.

Disabled people experience the same inequalities as non-disabled people. However, their situations are exacerbated by social and cultural attitudes to disability as well as environmental barriers. Disabled people have a lower uptake of health screening, are more likely to experience sexual violence, experience barriers to parenting, and are disproportionately affected by the extra costs they face because they are deemed to be disabled.

It is our lived, learned and professional experience that disabled people do not want to be reliant on their family for support unless both parties agree. Disabled people do not want carers, caring, home support or support services that impede their life chances to live like everyone else. These services only allow disabled people to exist and not live. We want and need access to tailored, person-centred supports that promote choice, control and self-determination in the form of a personal assistance service. This provision must become a right and must not be subject to resource availability.

A personal assistant, PA, is an individual contracted by a disabled person to provide him or her with the support he or she needs in different aspects of daily living. This assistance can look different to all of us because we all have different needs. Some tasks a PA carries out include support with intimate care, being a homemaker, providing assistance at school, university and the workplace, and parental support. When out and about, some disabled people need assistance with money management, navigating their environment or support with directing their PAs. There is no cut-off age for the provision of this support. I hand over to Ms Daly.