Mr. Leo Kavanagh:

Senator Clonan said that the State is not obliged. It most certainly is not. Look at the way we were treated when we tried to contact the disability policy unit in the Department. Are we the worst in Europe when it comes to disability? We most certainly are. Senator Clonan asked why this is the case. There is a huge stigma around disability in this State. It is not just people with intellectual disabilities or mental health problems. It covers the spectrum, including people with physical impairments like me. Since the foundation of the State, people with disabilities or mental health issues were put into institutions. The State wanted these people to be put into institutions. Their families were not always in favour of this but they were coerced into putting their children or loved ones into these institutions. Have things improved dramatically? They have most definitely not. Why is this? It is because there needs to be a willingness to change but, unfortunately, that does not exist in this modern, well-educated country, which is nonsensical.