Mark Wall (Labour)
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I welcome all the witnesses today: Ms Derval McDonagh, Ms Sarah Jane Lavin, Ms Angela Locke-Reilly, and Dr. Áine Roddy. Ms Lavin, a fellow Kildare person, is particularly welcome from the great county of Kildare.

I totally agree with Ms Lavin that independent living does not start at 55. That is a very important issue that she raises today. Could she comment on that? I deal with a lot of people who want independent living and the first barrier that is put up to them is the age qualification. The age of 55 is wrong and this must be addressed in the housing strategy. It is an issue that we could perhaps deal with again.

I wish to be associated with Deputy Tully's words about the great work done by Inclusion Ireland. I thank the organisation for the work it does on behalf of so many. I have a couple of questions. There is a reference in the presentation to public information accessibility. In terms of Government information, and information from the Oireachtas, perhaps Ms McDonagh could come back to us on how accessible it is for people and what we need to do differently. Previous contributors to the committee have spoken about this issue, but I would like to hear her comments from the point of view of how accessible it is. It is very important for us as a committee to hear such evidence from witnesses on the day-to-day lived experience. The information must be accessible if it needs to be changed. I would welcome a comment on that.

I agree with Deputy Tully's point that education is key. The witnesses say that themselves in their contributions. I have spent the past week dealing with a person who has a four-year old non-verbal child, who at this stage has contacted eight schools in the area. The current primary school is very good and has been very fair to the family. The child's siblings are in the primary school. However, the school has informed the parents that it cannot cater for the future needs of the child. The father came to my clinic on Monday night, and he was in a desperate state. The parents had contacted eight schools in the Kildare area and in a bordering county, but they cannot get anywhere. Unfortunately, that is symptomatic of several conversations I have had with parents. Speaking to members of this committee, I know that is the case with other parents as well. It goes back to the issue contributors have spoken about previously, which was mentioned again this morning, namely, planning. I refer to the gathering of information and data. I would welcome a comment from the witnesses on what we are doing wrong or not doing in regard to the gathering of such data. It is the key and cornerstone of how we develop policy on where we should go with autistic people. That is most important. If we are to plan for schools and special schools if they are needed, then we must gather the data. There seems to be a lack of joined-up thinking in that regard. I would welcome a comment on that.

Going back to independent living, I am dealing with a number of people who are living independently, and I see the advantages in their daily lives and what it means to them. I am struck again by the 80% unemployment rate among adults. Perhaps Dr. Roddy could comment on that. On the previous occasion the matter was raised I thought it was 60% but if it has gone up to 80%, that is even more worrying. We all need to do more to help people get employment, but that is a worrying statistic if we have 80% unemployment at this stage.

I also wish to refer to the cost of living with a disability. It is mind blowing that neither Dr. Roddy nor Inclusion Ireland is on the national inclusion strategy. That is something we must pick up as a committee. Dr. Roddy's credentials go before her, in addition to what she presented to us today.

That is what we should be listening to. We should be listening to the cost of disability.

There are families with an average debt of €3,260 per year with the cost of taking care of their loved ones. How is that broken down? Is it the cost of keeping lights and heat on? I know there is a cost-of-living crisis, but I ask for a more in-depth breakdown. I know Dr. Roddy fleshed out a little bit of it. We have heard from families who have come in previously that the cost of caring for their loved ones is a considerable issue. I ask Dr. Roddy to flesh that out from her expertise a bit. I cannot believe that.