Ms Una Coates:

I am the chairperson of Inclusion Ireland’s self-advocacy committee. I am proud to be here as a woman with an intellectual disability to speak up and use my voice.

Ireland ratified the UNCRPD in 2018. Article 4.3 of the convention mentions making sure people with disabilities are involved in decisions that are important to them, including laws and policies. I did a course on self-advocacy in 2018. It was the start of my journey in speaking up for myself. Advocacy is when other people speak on behalf of a group. Self-advocacy is when people speak up for themselves about what is important. It is powerful to hear people tell their own stories. Only people with intellectual disabilities can tell you what it is like to have their experiences in life. As a committee, we organise events, we do focus groups to hear what people have to say, and we help to make information easy to read. We take part, when the Government and other organisations ask, on what we think. Our committee has both men and women. We are all the same.

To make informed decisions, we need information presented in a way we understand. We need more easy-to-read information and videos. We need decision-makers to understand that we all communicate in different ways. People can have their voices heard. Even if they do not speak, they can use technology or have a communication partner to get their message across. I am lucky I can speak. I will speak for others. We are all equal no matter how much support we need. We all have the same rights.