Ms Lianne Quigley:

I thank the Deputy and agree with all the points he made. I would like to give additional feedback regarding the plans behind the areas of work and access.

I am deaf. I found the paperwork and the application process very frustrating. People see that I am deaf, but the process of having to fill in forms to make an application is complicated. As was said, there has not been enough consultation and transparency on the form-filling and application process. It is all still very vague. Several different Departments are involved, which is frustrating. The DPO Network had a meeting with the Department of equality on the national strategic plan and we talked about the crossover between Departments in the area of disability. Some kind of breakthrough is needed in order to create one central point - almost a one-stop shop - where all the Departments can cross over to avoid separating everything out. The Department of Social Protection did not consult the disability groups. Any policies, strategic plans or anything else being decided upon needs to have meaningful consultation with disability organisations. That is more impactful. I work with the work and access scheme. In the application process when looking for an interpreter, people have to pick one name. People are asked to select the name of an interpreter, but there are several different interpreters. That is just one example of a barrier, that there is only room for one name. Attitudes also need to change and education on disability and access helps that. It would make a big difference