Dr. Joanne McCarthy:

I will pick up on the programme of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It is a really interesting pilot programme. There is a responsibility to equality proof. There is also more information on gender and greater clarity on the issues involved. Six Departments decided to play ball and identify areas they would highlight in respect of gender proofing. This has to be applauded. The initiative came up in a previous hearing. I also agree that they may not have been very ambitious in terms of the programmes that were to be tested. Perhaps we might look to bring greater ambition to the process if we were to disability proof. There was a lot of work done on indicators. We have a national disability strategy implementation plan. The detail is slightly outdated in the light of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, but the high level goals are still in place. We would have to look at strengthening the indicators in order that they would be more ambitious in the outcomes to be achieved for people with disabilities. My answer to the Deputy is that it was a good attempt, but for our sector, we would like it to be more ambitious and would much prefer to see a more systemic analysis, testing how Departments are working across each other to support people in having really good lives in the community.