Ms Grace Murphy:

Ireland adopted the 2030 SDG agenda in 2015. At its heart are 17 goals that seek to ensure that the basic needs of all human beings of all nations are met. We should be able to assume that no person in Ireland, one of the richest countries in the world, would be left hungry, cold or without necessary medical treatment, but that is not the case. Disabled people and their children are a part of Irish society that is most exposed to consistent poverty. The cost-of-living crisis has left many at breaking point. No person, disabled or otherwise, should be afraid to turn on the heating, unable to buy food to eat or left waiting on a hospital trolley for days, yet those have become everyday scenarios throughout the country.

Beyond basic need, the SDGs are about planning for a better future, a better society and a better world through sustainable and climate-responsible change. Sustainability is all about planning, and it is fair to say that disabled people are, of necessity, masters at planning as we have to navigate a world that was not designed with us in mind. Sustainability in Ireland means collective organising to ensure the ongoing well-being of everyone who lives here. I would like to see these principles brought to bear in planning disability services for us and for future generations. There will be disabled children born this year and every other year, but where is the planning for timely assessments for them, early intervention, care supports and income supports for families? Crucially, where is the long-term plan for personal assistance services, accessible housing and transport schemes and other supports needed for those children to achieve independence, access employment and participate in society as full and equal citizens with lives of autonomy and dignity?

The SDGs are meant to guide us in creating the kind of world in which we all want to live. To create it, we need a plan created in collaboration with disabled people that understands and embeds our inclusion in its every aspect. The Department leading the implementation of the SDGs must work closely with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to create a disability-specific roadmap that ensures disabled people are no longer forgotten in the implementation of the SDGs and must introduce impact assessments for all strategies likely to affect disabled people. Disabled persons organisations must be consulted in close partnership in identifying the challenges, opportunities and priorities for these strategies. Every human being who lives long enough will probably be disabled someday, so it is in everyone’s interest that politicians such as the committee members remember our needs when making policies for all our futures.