Mr. Adam Harris:

There are a few points that I wish to make. Coming back to a point I made earlier on, the issue of a lack of well supported and resourced and consistently consulted DPOs has been a core problem in terms of our response to Covid-19. That might be best illustrated in respect of the issue of school closures. Often, the voices of people who were missing from discussions around that issue were those for whom the services were created. It is a very significant concern that when services were closed, the voices of disabled people were not at the table and were certainly not given the same weight as large services providers or groups with vested interests. That is concerning and it is not in line with the rights-based approach conceived in the UNCRPD.

In addition, there is concern around the fact that there was a lack of sufficient safeguards when Covid-19 restrictions were put in place. Very often, when safeguards were put in place, they were not actively implemented or policed by the Government. That is particularly well illustrated with the example of face coverings. Many disabled people have been isolated at home and unable to access vital services, despite being exempt from wearing a face covering. That is an example of where rights were not protected proactively during the pandemic. It is worrying and it has had a long-term impact.

Looking down the list of articles in the UN convention, there is not one that was not impacted in one way or another during the Covid-19 pandemic. One thing that is of concern is that while to our credit equality legislation was not suspended during the pandemic, the reality is that in practice, the right to access vital supports was suspended. A very bad message was sent by the State when vital supports for people with disabilities, such as occupational and speech and language therapy, were diverted away as if they were not essential services. That sends a message about where we are at still in terms of our understanding and our position around a rights-based approach to accessing support.

Finally, I think the reopening is an opportunity. The world of work is an area where there is a particular opportunity. It is probably the area of life that is going to be most substantially impacted into the future by Covid-19. We are at the very early stages of the discussion of what the future of work looks like. We really must take it as an opportunity to make the world of work more inclusive. For example, we have heard some feedback from around the world that many people with disabilities are underemployed at present because commuting to a workplace, having to interact with people and deal with a busy environment every day is so exhausting that people with disabilities are significantly underemployed or cannot work full-time. The dawn of flexible working potentially creates new opportunities. We must recognise the mistakes that have been made over the past 15 months, but we must use this an opportunity to look at how society is changing and how we can really bring the UNCRPD to life.