Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. It is great to have them here. I have listened intently and I do not want to go back over what other members talked about. I am new to this committee, given I was previously a Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for the national drugs strategy and health and well-being. This committee is very much united, and both the Chair and the Vice Chair are anxious that the DPOs’ voices be heard. One thing I noticed when I was at the Department of Health was that, not least in respect of the national drugs strategy, people there wanted to be involved. They may have used drugs or been from agencies and they wanted to be involved, as I saw through the national drugs task forces on the ground. There was a vocation, and we need that vocation in the Department with responsibility for disability as well. These voices will be brought back forcefully by the committee to the Department or wherever else.

There was a reference to shame and stigma, which we have to get rid of. It is something we are coming to terms with.

The issue of buses in the UK was raised last week, whereby UK buses are much more user friendly than the Irish ones. I cannot understand why that is. Car parking spaces were mentioned. It is an issue that local authorities, apart from those in the cities and towns, are not dealing with, so we need to articulate that among the local authorities. I come from Roscommon and represent Sligo, Leitrim, north Roscommon and south Donegal, and I am very familiar with Galway as well. There are issues and the local authorities have not taken this seriously. Members of the Garda are very busy. It is an issue that needs to be addressed.

The medical card was discussed at the previous meeting and is an issue that raises its head all the time. It does not seem fit for purpose and needs to be sorted out.

Regarding the ten-year budget, we have always said multi-annual budgets are the way forward. I am not sure about a ten-year budget, although it can be phased out in three or four terms. It helps most organisations to adapt.

To Ms Quan Farrant, I say "Welcome home" and thank her for paying respect to her ancestors. In the 1980s, I lived and worked in Australia and spent a season working as a kitchen hand on Hayman Island on the Whitsunday Islands. It was very nice. I have not been able to afford to go back to stay there but it was good, as were the people. The ambassador, H.E. Mr. Gary Gray, and his team work closely with us in the Oireachtas. It is nice to see that Irish-Australian link continuing. I thank Ms Quan Farrant for that.

Mr. O'Dea talked about the three towns in Galway that we discussed. We need to do more with the local authorities. Perhaps the local authority members or councillors could raise it as well.

Regarding the optional protocol, there is no weight behind the Government’s commitment and we need to ensure these protocols will be implemented. The 70% unemployment rate among disabled persons is very high and we certainly need to address it. I thought we had made greater inroads and I did not think we were outliers in our lack of ambition. We need to do an awful lot more. I have heard a few of the witnesses' views regarding how it is money well spent, but we need their voices at the table. I have found that Departments like good governance and data. I see it even in myself. I was great at organising football clubs, but not so much when it came to getting the right people to fill in forms and so on. The witnesses are busy people. We need more mentors and assistants. Ministers come and go, but a lot of the established organisations, if I am hearing correctly what the witnesses are saying, have links with the Departments, principal officers and so on. They hope their voices will be heard, and this committee is here to ensure that will happen.

With regard to the lack of resources for a register of DPOs, now is the time for the committee to ask the Ministers for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and Finance for more money. I will do that within my party, but this committee is strongly united and it is a voice for the DPOs. I again thank the witnesses for attending. We have heard them loud and clear and hope that message will be passed on.