Mr. Guillaume Jacquinot:

On the question on children with disabilities, the first thing is to have the same level of ambition for all children, with better supports. Many schools still struggle to get the SNA supports they asked for in order to have a sufficient number of hours. There should be better access to career guidance. I heard when working in Inclusion Ireland and when I was in the disability sector that it feels like life stops for so many children once they turn 18 and leave school. This transition from school to the workplace needs to be seriously addressed. Those are my main recommendations. I invite the members to speak to disability organisations. This matter, in itself, could be a conversation for this committee.

On the question on funding, the problem we have is that the funding received by many organisations before the crisis has never been fully recovered. Many organisations still do not have funding at the level that obtained before 2008.

There was a Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, agreement to ensure equal pay between the public sector and the community and voluntary sector. That is going on at the moment. There are a lot of charitable organisations that were not a part of the deal and, therefore, do not get sufficient pay for the staff. Approximately only 30% or 40% of organisations have access to multi-annual funding. Many have to work year by year, which leaves them in instability and causes difficulty in recruitment, because how can you recruit when people do not have long-term visibility?

When I talk about the full cost recovery, some arrangements do not include inflation or compliance costs. Therefore, many of our members tell us that year after year when inflation costs are not met with the same level of funding, they cannot provide the same level of services. That is what we hear from our organisations, and not only in the disability sector. It is a broader conversation we have.