Ms Gillian Kearns:

I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Leas-Chathaoirleach and esteemed members of the committee for their invitation to this committee session today. Neuro Pride Ireland is Ireland's only national cross-neurodivergency disabled persons' organisation, and we represent neurodivergent people from, or living on, the island of Ireland. We were founded as a cross-neurodivergency organisation in response to community need as the majority of neurodivergent people have more than one neurodivergent identity; for example, up to 80% of autistic people also have ADHD. As well as holding peer support and social groups for our approximately 1,000 members and an annual festival of social and cultural events, we produce educational materials and actively advocate for neurodivergent people's right to full participation in all aspects of society. Neuro Pride Ireland is a disabled persons' organisation as all members of the founding committee and organising committee and additional volunteers are neurodivergent, with most of us also having other physical impairments. As such, we appreciate the committee's invitation to participate in this discussion today.

Neuro Pride Ireland firmly believes in the disabled community maxim "Nothing about us without us". It also believes that the voices of those with lived experiences should be prioritised over those of service providers, charities and caregivers. Thankfully, this belief is also outlined within the UNCRPD. We recognise that the role of DPOs and self-advocates is to champion the views and lived experiences of disabled people in order to inform policy and legislation which directly impacts disabled lives. We also recognise, however, the State's role to ensure disabled voices are heard throughout all decision stages that will impact disabled lives. To fail to do so is to fail to meet obligations under the cross-cutting Articles 4.3 and 33.3 of the convention and a failure to meet general comment 7, which directly explores this principle.

It is not enough to provide us a space to share our thoughts; the State must ensure that the process is accessible to DPOs. This covers so much more than we could begin to touch on in five minutes so we will focus only on capacity building. To be able to fully engage in the ideal level of consultations, we believe the State first has to recognise that many DPOs are grassroots organisations relying on the unpaid labour of disabled volunteers. As such, the needs of each DPO will vary depending on the skills and availability of its team. For meaningful participation, the State must help in the capacity building of DPOs and remain flexible in its approach to this. For example, capacity building for some DPOs may include computer literacy education but this is not a need for others. Like most things in the world of accessibility, we cannot approach this with a one-size-fits-all approach but instead must be flexible and responsive to the needs of DPOs.

I will pass over to Cír to do the rest of the introduction.