Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Ms Jarvey, Mr. Mallon, Ms Cahill, Ms Buckley, Ms Doheny and Dr. Lally. I also thank Ms Haight and Ms Toze who joined us from Washington DC. We are delighted they joined us and gave us their insights. My job is to wrap up the meeting and to thank the witnesses for coming before us.

The discussion we had was on supporting people with disabilities leaving their communities. The most important thing is the lived experience and Ms Buckley gave us that in a very sincere way and we thank her for that. It is not easy for families to put on the public record the challenges they face. The witnesses gave a sense of thinking outside the box and challenging the different silos.

I picked up on a couple of words. The 2Gen model is so important because we need to have a family focus. The social model is important because for so long, people with disabilities were treated under a medical model. A social model is so important for society as a whole in terms of integration. Those were the challenges.

The witnesses spoke about the training of SNAs. It is a huge indictment on the State that there is not a service there. That is a basic human right for kids when they are going to school. That is something that we will continue to raise and reflect on. I refer to the silos, the flexibility and the greater social good, which is to ensure people with disabilities are integrated into society. It is not just the person with the disability; it is their families and their communities. Some communities can be absolutely fantastic while others do not embrace it as much. Our challenge is to do that.

I have been working with Crann over the last few months. I think Mr. Mallon rang me on a Friday afternoon in February. Much has been achieved. Deputy Higgins mentioned the Stewarts project. There is one common thread between the Stewarts project and Crann and that is Mr. David Doyle, who is consulting with the Stewarts project in developing the equine centre. We are eternally grateful to the Crann Centre for the sponsorship of the land. We cannot say enough about what has been done for us. It is going to be a very exciting project and a fantastic project for the CHO 4 and for the area. Both Crann and the Stewarts project should continue to challenge the system.

I refer to the various mindsets in regard to people with disabilities.

In the late 1960s when community groups and organisations came together to set up the section 38 and 39 organisations, that was one of the major developments for people with disabilities, but it is now time to further challenge the situation. I urge the organisations to keep challenging the system. The committee is charged with trying to make the lives, families and communities of people with disabilities better. We hope that we do that every Thursday morning. We will continue to do so. I sincerely thank all the witnesses for coming today. They gave us very enlightened information and a lot on which to ponder as we continue with this module of engagement on the UNCRDP.

Members are practising bilocation every Thursday morning. At one stage, they are in the Chamber and at another stage they are sitting here. Sometimes we might wonder, but when members come on they know every single thing that has happened in the meeting, so they are listening to the meeting while they are doing something else. I thank members for their continued effort. It is only through the strength of the questions from our members and the genuine interest they have in the subject matter that our committee can be strong. I urge them to them to keep up the good work, although I know they have competing challenges. I also thank our team who keep us all on the straight and narrow and keep things ticking over.