Mr. Niall Brunell:

The issue of awareness is very much linked to everything Ms Fitzgerald spoke about. Mr. Ó Conaill referenced a move towards the new strategy taking a particular focus and a continuing focus from previous strategies on mainstreaming first. That requires a good level of awareness and cognisance of the issues that face disabilities across policymakers in other areas and other service delivery areas within other Departments and other public bodies. For that reason awareness raising is in the convention itself. Article 8 requires that states engage in awareness-raising campaigns. Interestingly it is caveated with effective public awareness campaigns. We have learned from preparing awareness campaigns that disability awareness probably does not go far enough. We are really talking about disability understanding and how a good understanding of disability issues and the lived experience of people with disabilities can be disseminated and shared not only throughout the State but also across wider Irish society. We are in the process of developing two large national awareness-raising campaigns. They are both linked to actions from the national disabilities strategies. The national disability and inclusion strategy that ended in December last year had an action in respect of a UNCRPD awareness campaign. That is in development at the moment. There is a similar action under the comprehensive employment strategy for a national awareness-raising campaign linked specifically to the topic of the employment of people with disabilities.

We have been working with stakeholders, with people with disabilities and with disabled persons’ organisations on the development those plans. There are going to be national campaigns rolled out over the course of the year. They will both utilise a variety of media formats. We will have radio, outdoor advertising, print and social media and television. They will be joined by awareness-raising activities. These are being co-ordinated elsewhere within the system. The committee will be aware that decision making commenced yesterday. An awareness-raising campaign is being run by the decision support service with a similar format featuring the champions of that service including people who will be service users, people with dementia and people with intellectual disabilities. That will run for the next couple of months, starting in the coming weeks.

There is much activity on the topic of disability awareness. It is from that point of view that we want to make sure there is a good cognisance of disability issues across the system and across Irish society more broadly.