Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I thank all of the witnesses for appearing before us today. Their insights are essential for us as a committee.

Education is not only a key public service but a vehicle by which we learn how to be part of a larger society. It should empower us to live independent lives and that should apply to everyone.

We all know there are incredible schools, colleges and training schemes that offer inclusive education for people with disabilities but we are also aware of the very many shortcomings in the system. The insights our guests have provided in their statements illustrate many of those shortcomings.

I thank the Cope Foundation for being here and for everything it does. As a Cork Deputy, I am aware of the incredible work that the foundation does. In particular, I thank Mr. Kelly for sharing his story with us. I am struck by his resilience. He mentioned the difference an election can make in a person's life. He is talking to a room of people who can empathise with that.

I want to ask about the importance of Easy to Read as a tool to make information in business, public service and other areas more accessible. Will Mr. Kelly tell us what Easy to Read is and how businesses and public bodies can get involved?

Ms Hennessy discussed the need for a change to the culture of low expectation for people with additional and more complex impairments. We all know cultural shifts are incredibly important but take a frustratingly long time to change. What specific measures should we be pushing for to help achieve that? To draw on a different example, there has been a lot of recent public discussion of issues around domestic and gender-based violence. We know a big cultural shift is required and how we address that is a big challenge. There are also obvious things that can be done by the Government immediately, such as providing an adequate number of refuge spaces for people fleeing domestic violence. There are two ways of looking at and tackling this. What specific things does Ms Hennessy feel the Government could do now? One example might be a quota in the public service for people with disabilities. It would be great to hear some other examples.

I will focus on Dr. Brady's previous communications to this committee and its members on issues around progressing disability services for young people. For education to be inclusive and accessible, the individual needs of people must be understood and supported by a range of medical and educational professionals. Down Syndrome Ireland's research has highlighted the uncertainty families face and the lack of therapeutic staff. We all hear a lot about that in our constituency offices. Will Dr. Brady provide us with an update on the situation as she sees it since she wrote to the committee last year?