Dr. Joanne McCarthy:

There are two models in that regard. For example, Áiseanna Tacaíochta, AT, are here today and they are players around the delivery of a personalised service.

In terms of the numbers of organisations, they are not all equal. There is a general misunderstanding of the term "disability organisations". This is probably going beyond the agenda but not all those organisations are equal. Some of them are very large players such as St. Michael's House, the Irish Wheelchair Association, IWA and the other household names we all know. Others are very local family or individually led organisations that are facilitating local community participation. The figure of 100 can be misleading but the investment behind that at all levels is what we need to walk away with, so to speak. There are not 100 large organisations vying to deliver services. They are all delivering and responding to very particular needs.

On the question of whether there is capacity to bring about synergies, without a doubt I am sure there are issues in that regard. Some organisations work very well together at local level to create that synergy so that the person who is experiencing services from three or four different organisation is getting them in a seamless way. There are probably improvements that can be brought to that and that is something we work with through people's service arrangements with the Health Service Executive, HSE, at community healthcare organisation, CHO, level. That is an ongoing commitment and those of us within the sector are always trying to find better ways of bringing about those synergies.