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

I apologise for being late but I spent a little more time trying to get into Leinster House this evening than I would have liked. However, I was following the meeting on my iPhone. It is great to have modern technology.

I am delighted to see the DSG represented here and I thank it for the work it is doing. It is great to see that there are people with lived experience of disability in the group and great that it facilitates those discussions. That is very helpful for Departments, politicians and everyone else. It is good to have a united voice so I congratulate the group on that.

I wish to raise a number of issues with our guests. The first is the development of the new strategy. It is not a priority for the Department and I know others have discussed this already. What more can we do? I know that our guests have gone through this already but it is probably not getting the attention it deserves. I know that when I was in the Department people who were working on areas such as the national drugs task forces were moved to deal with Covid. While that was understandable, there is no such excuse for it from here on in. I saw a lot of things in the Department being put on the back burner because of Covid, and maybe that is the issue.

Another issue is that of local authorities and local area co-ordination. How can the local authorities work to better accommodate people with disabilities? Sometimes we discuss these things at a national level but, in reality, they are implemented at a local level. Are there good practice examples in the UK, Europe or elsewhere? Another issue is that of decongregation and progress on same in Ireland. Some have said that it is slow and needs more impetus. What are the real barriers to real progress? What can the HSE and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth do together to achieve what we want, which is independent living?

Again, I thank the witnesses for the great work they do. I am delighted they are here today.