Ms Amy Hassett:

I will try to tie together a few different points. One little thing dawned on me. I had forgotten the cost of disability report. We all need to remember in respect of that collection of information, that we are still struggling to get the fine-grained, detailed data we need concerning gender minorities. We have that report, but it does not contain a great deal on gender. This is impairing us in terms of fully understanding the extent of these problems. When we are talking about the data we have available, it is important to remember when we are going through this reporting procedure to the UNCRPD committee that we must think about how we collect data better. This is going to be one of the things that will be extremely important in the years to come. The question is how we can get the fine-grained, detailed data required, specifically relating to gender, and not just to women but also to other gender minorities. We essentially have no data on these aspects now. We are flying blind and as best we can, using accounts of experiences based on individual conversations and those kinds of things.

Regarding means testing, we talked about the means testing of housing adaptation grants. Earlier, we also talked about means testing for disability allowances and other social protection measures. The point I wish to reiterate in this respect is that removing means testing is a way of keeping people out of poverty. Equally, though, we must bear in mind that even if people are not living in poverty, having to account for the cost of disability in their daily lives is impairing them from planning for their future and from putting systems in place in that regard. Taking the example of middle-class people who are disabled, they will still find it more difficult to plan for their future and to invest in the things they wish to relative to a non-disabled person. Therefore, when we talk about means testing, it is an important aspect right across society. It is simply not fair that people who have disabilities incur more costs than people who do not. Nobody should be living in poverty, but fundamentally as well nobody should have to cover the costs of their disabilities. Everyone should be supported in society to enable them to have the ability to do so.

To come back to the Chair's question on how we can implement recommendation 12 in respect of transitioning through life stages and ensuring continuity of support, we have talked a lot about age and how ages represent major barriers in respect of the continuity of support. Geographic location is another element in this regard. The support services available to people depend to an incredible extent on where they live. If people move from one region to another, it is a nightmare to try to re-establish all these supports. I can tell the committee this because I am doing it right now and it has been taking about ten hours a week to try to get the systems in place.

Why is that the case? How can we do something about it? We must examine how we can overhaul the system and create one that is much more focused on the individual, that is, a system that is much more person-focused. How do we ensure that support follows the person? We talk about reasonable accommodations in employment. We are having the same issues in that regard where the supports are tied to the workplace rather than to individuals. We must explore how we can create systems that follow disabled people themselves, irrespective of where they move in the country and of what age they are. If we can do that, if we can build those systems and involve disabled people and other marginalised groups in building them, then we will start to deal with these problems and we will start improving the situation.