Dr. Niamh Lally:

The questions raised about that national policy, how it can be monitored and safeguarded and how one tracks success is very much about embedding a sense of curiosity within the system and among the practitioners and the staff who are within and run the services and who are very passionate about them. Part and parcel of what we do in Genio is really about that process. Everybody in this room knows that decongregation or shutting down long-term institutions, not just the buildings, but the institutional practices and ways of working, is very difficult. It is a very challenging arena to be working in. Part of the process that we bring in Genio is that curiosity through an action research process. That is very much about asking people how they are experiencing their service, what their lives are like and about their practices and putting those at times undiscussable things back on to the table, that is, things that go unsaid and the practices that are not unearthed. In this arena there are very strong and very different views because there are so many stakeholders involved. However, it is about giving people that airtime and that sense that they are being heard and that they are contribution is valued. It is really about tapping into the expertise that is already there.

Much of the time there can be a policy implementation gap. There can be fantastic policies but it is about how you embed them on the ground. That is very much about tapping into the expertise in the room, working with that coalition of the willing and exposing people to each other and to all that richness that is there in terms of how people want to live their lives, how people want to live in the community and their will and preference and their rights. It is about trying to bring people who have that expertise together, that, is, the people with lived experiences, the people in use of services, the people with disabilities, the staff, the policymakers and the people with oversight. It is really about how one co-designs a way forward together, although not necessarily a solution because, as Ms Doheny said, not one solution fits all. The question is around how one co-designs it and how one can people be brought together. It is really about embedding that in a way that one can have those fast-paced loops and feedbacks we have with the HSE and the National Disability Office. It allows us to feedback to them quickly, in terms of what is happening on the ground, what are the good practices and what are the things that are blocking them, so that people can move together in a way that is solution-focused and that moves forward. That is what one gets in terms of that sustainability piece, that change in practice and that breaking down of institutional barriers.