Ms Claire McCarthy:

We thank the committee for its invitation to discuss how we can create independent living and help communities to be inclusive. We, Bríd Broderick, Bart Cronin, Diarmuid O’Leary and I, Claire McCarthy, are students on the certificate in disability inclusive practice, CDIP, a one-year course for people with intellectual disabilities, ID, in UCC.

The CDIP is part of the id+ Project which promotes the rights of people with ID to attend inclusive third level education and to go into paid work. The id+ Project values are based on the UNCRPD.

The CDIP is where we learned about the UNCRPD and what it means for our lives. We have become aware and gained leadership skills and self-confidence. Lived experience is important in making laws and policies because people with disabilities have lived in the situations and know what needs to be changed.

The CRPD shows us what could be done for the rights of people with disabilities but there are gaps, and we need to fix the gaps, so we have the right to live independently and be included in our communities.

Article 19 deals with housing and being able to live independently in our own apartment or space is really important. There is a lack of housing and too much red tape to apply. It needs to be more accessible for people with ID to apply for social housing. The form needs to be in easy read format.

It is very important to be included in the community and to have groups to socialise with and be with in community spaces. It is very important to us not to be sidelined because of disability. People with ID should get the opportunity to go on work placements to the community to share their lived experiences and to train staff and be staff.

Being UCC students has been positive because we are integrating with other students and getting involved in classes that we are interested in. People with disabilities have the right to fully inclusive education and not to be sent to special education but policy needs to change for this to happen. There are still the issues of transport and grants for further education, especially for people with intellectual disability, ID. The graduates of last year's CDIP wrote about this in a book chapter.

It is important that the commitment in Article 27 in respect of getting a job is fulfilled. People need to be able to work and earn enough money so they do not have to worry about payments such as disability allowance and back-to-work schemes being cut. We need equality within the workforce. We need to be included in what is happening and to be supported to work. We did a three-month supported and paid work placement in UCC last year. We would like other colleges to look at this to get people with ID into employment and for employers to engage with colleges to know that people with ID can work.

The whole UNCRPD, including Articles 5, 8, 9, 12, 23 and 30, is important. We would be happy to meet and talk more about the UNCRPD. We want to close the gaps between the ideas in the UNCRPD and what is happening in our lives now.