Mr. Peter Kearns:

I thank Senator O'Loughlin. On the Senator's third question about disabled people and children in institutions and day centres, in terms of social justice, that is where we approach the idea of dialogue with DPOs. It is where the collective voice can be built around that dialogue.

In terms of social justice, I teach in the community centre Sligo. In Sligo DPO, we have to pay for the room and the software on the computer while the local authority and HSE workers are coming there as part of the job. For us to engage in climate change dialogue with the system, therefore, we have to pay out of our own pockets for that dialogue. It would be great if the State structures and systems would recognise that. For local and national DPOs to work effectively, we need the resources to do that. With €2.6 billion going to the disability sector, how much of that is going to DPOs nationally and locally?

In terms of social justice and the sustainable development goals, SDGs, it is great to talk about dialogue beyond consultation. For that dialogue to happen around climate change and sustainable goals, DPOs need the reassurances to have that authentic space. Even though a person may have been born with an impairment or acquired an impairment, he or she does not necessarily have the capacity actually to reflect on that lived experience. The DPO coaches are the very people with whom many disabled people first come into contact, which would be a medical rather than just a social model on climate change.

DPOs are the only organisations that can work collectively with disabled people cross-impairment. It is not all about resources but resources need to be there for local DPOs to actually engage. There is no systematic funding for that to happen.