Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My sincere apologies that I missed the earlier part of the meeting to other parliamentary duties but I have had the opportunity to read quickly through the witnesses' submissions, for which I thank them. I thank also the secretariat here for their excellent briefing on the roadmap as to where we are and where we need to go.

I was going to confine my questions to three of the different articles of the convention. As for Article 19, on living independently and being included in the community, one of the key areas here is that support services such as personal assistants should be made available for disabled people in order that they can live independently and be integrated and included in wider society.

Unfortunately, as we know, Ireland is failing in its obligation to support independent living. In 2017, the average time per day for personal assistance for people with disabilities was just 42 minutes, which falls very far short of what is desirable. The committee has recommended that a national personal assistance service be developed.

What legislative measures would be needed to implement this? The committee has also recommended that a right to independent living be implemented so that people who need it a could access independent living and necessary supports. I would like the witnesses' views on those points and then I can go on to Article 24 on education and Article 27 on work and employment.