Ms Claire Kenny:

To fully implement the UNCRPD, effective policy-making forums must be established to foster collaborative spaces with disabled people to develop and implement effective policies locally and nationally. Including us only at the consultative phase is too late because there is a lot of nuance to impairment and also to the disability community as a whole. Running consultative forums involves expertise that disabled persons’ organisations have because they consult their members. With regard to every submission we ever send to this committee or others, we have to run consultative spaces with our members, of various impairments. We have the expertise and are guided by our members on whether certain accommodation works.

Therefore, the consultation phase is too late. Also, for local authority planning, there is only a certain budget. Ideally, we would love to say make everything accessible and universally designed but we know for a fact that is not feasible because there are restrictions, and funding is limited. You would only be given a certain amount of money to make a certain area adaptable. Why not consult local DPOs and say there is a possibility of making a footpath, an area or, as Senator Flynn said, a park, accessible? Why do they not go to their local DPO in Sligo and ask what would that look like for disabled people or should we focus that money elsewhere so the money is not wasted and it makes a difference in disabled peoples' lives in that particular area?