Ms Lucinda Murrihy:

It comes back to our mindset, to be honest. I know that is very broad and it is difficult to get one's head around how exactly we would unpick that. We are talking about the children within our community. We are talking about children with an intellectual disability. They are so valuable to what we are talking about today. They are the teachers. We need to see them as teachers and experts in their difference and disability, which is varied. We have a huge variety of difference and disability in Ireland but also humans are not static. We do not stay with high-support needs or low-support needs. We change every day, all of us. We really need to look at that. I think it is bigger than education. It is about really acknowledging that, and a lot of it comes from the fact none of us went to school with difference or disability. I know I am repeating myself but the key is to ensure we have inclusion and integration, that children are not leaving communities and that we are not investing in othering. I do not think we necessarily need to invest more in education. We need to look at how we are investing and look at our goals and make sure they are aligned to the UNCRPD. If we start there, acknowledging that maybe our mindsets are not in the right place, and start from a rights based lens and a child centered, child focused place, we will get it right. That is the path forward.