Dr. James Casey:

Look at authenticity of representation. Everyone is talking about fake news and so on, but you rarely see disabled people in the media talking about disability issues. You will see large entities talking about it. We are talking about authenticity of voices. It goes back to a power struggle. There is a lot of money involved in disability, but that is not about me, Ms Kenny or anyone I know. The message is usually quite negative, and one of crisis and so on. In the context of the future of media, disabled people need to be involved in the planning of that media just like other groups, whether they comprise people of colour, members of the LGBT community or members of the Traveller community. Everyone needs to be involved in that because it needs to reflect Irish society. Irish society has moved on from "Glenroe" on a Sunday night, and people fretting about doing their homework, and that is important. Sometimes, the media is not moving with society. Sometimes, it is still a little slow. It needs to catch up. I cannot talk for any of the other groups although disability is intersectional, just as every other group is intersectional in many ways. Specifically on disability, this is the fist time that a disabled persons' organisation has come to a committee like this. Think about that. It is the first time that disabled people have represented themselves. Many groups have come here representing different specific charities or organisations and that is grand, that is cool, but it is very rare that we as a group of people get to represent ourselves. That is quite concern. It is not something that a lot of disabled people will take anymore. They are more militant and more proactive as citizens.

I listened to the others talking about Covid. That is a perfect example. During Covid, we heard a lot about vulnerable citizens, whether they are elderly or whatever. Disabled people were used like a rubber chicken. The only narrative you heard was to the effect that they were vulnerable, they were going to die and they were in crisis. That is not the thousands of disabled people I know around the country. Covid was an exciting, creative time for us. We came together in many online spaces that we, as disabled people, created and fostered.

Today came from many of those spaces. We knew we could not all get together in Dublin. People live in Donegal, Ballina, Clonakilty, Laois and Louth. How do we get together? We get together online. These were not things a service provider came up with. We were using these tools anyway. It was an exciting time. We were creating spaces. It is not like throwing a rattle out of the pram, but the media totally ignored that. They were more inclined to quote service providers about their clients. It was almost like they wanted to keep away from the vulnerable, as though disabled people in society had a hex on our backs. That was the narrative that was being put out. The reality was very different. I have spoken to hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. Ms Kenny can also speak about how lively we became in that period. That whole story is missing. The reality is missing. Instead we get the marketing. We hear that more funds are needed and that is okay, but those funds do not go to me or Ms Kenny. They are not reflective of the disabled people I know who are parents, workers, people from the LGBT community or Travellers. Those are the disabled people I know. When the going got tough they are the people who stuck together, came out, became creative and started speaking for themselves. We have been doing so for a long time but on the whole the narrative was of vulnerable people and service providers.

Service providers skedaddled when Covid-19 happened. Many ran for the hills. That is their issue. It is fine. The important thing is the predominant trope. I keep going on about this but it is important. We do not go to men's sheds and ask them about women's rights issues. We do not ask the GAA about the IRFU or Ryanair about passenger rights. However, much of the time, and always in consultation processes, service providers and large charities are the ones talking about disability issues. That does not reflect in the media who we are, how we are as people, a community and how diverse we are. We would never ask hetero people to speak about LGBT+ issues. We would never ask Caucasian or white people to speak about people of colour issues, but it is more than acceptable for disability service providers to drive the narrative, which in turn drives policy. That is the crucial issue. Consultation with true DPOs will lead to solutions, rights and equality.