Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I understand that we are we are running tight on time. How does our witnesses’ programme support parents who are disabled and have disabled children? This is of interest to me.

I would also like to ask about the programme around people from ethnic minority groups and poor people within communities. I do not have a significant question other than the first one. The rest of my questions refer to making points about people being poor and not having the finances to be able to get the supports, and to travel, with the cost of living going up as it is. How can we support those people who fall through the gaps?

I agree with Ms Ní Raghallaigh in that every organisation should have the training because when we know better, we perform and do better. That is very important.

There is also the question of access. We need to create the access but, obviously, if it is not funded very well, one is already at a disadvantage. Leaflets going through the door are more often put in the bin. We all see these “No Junk Mail” notices. No matter how important one’s leaflet is, people will not want to read it. The last thing one wants to do is to read a leaflet where there is no action and where the person is not getting the supports. That is no fault of the organisation or the service but is a problem for the person not having access to the service.

I know from being on the Joint Committee on Autism that parents are phenomenal when it comes to being resilient, getting supports and making up for these. I have seen parents coming together in Ardara in Donegal to support children with disabilities in their local community.

It does not matter what that disability is. A parents' group comes together every Monday where they can talk and share information and the children can also interact and connect with one another. There is no funding around that. There is no investment or education. Even though we like to think we have come a long way as a society and there is no longer a stigma with having a disability, unfortunately that is not the case even if we now see access for people in wheelchairs. We have an awful lot of issues to deal with as a society. Although we think we are no longer ashamed of it, we all know the stigma is there.

We can sit here all day and say as a cross-party support committee that we want the best for people with disabilities and their families, of course, but how do we get that? How do we hold the State to account so that it invests in supports and people? We can put what has been said in this meeting down as a recommendation passionately and eloquently. Sometimes we get so passionate, one might think we are being rude but we are not. We are just being very honest which, in my opinion, is lovely to see. We can have all these great ideas but if they are not funded and supported by the Government, how can we roll them out?