Mr. Damien Walsh:

In terms of what Deputy Toole asked about other committees, the answer is "Yes", but it has been slow. Mr. Sherwin and Ms Quigley made the point around how disabled persons organisations are relatively recent in Ireland, but we are beginning to raise our profiles sufficiently, as ILMI presented around disabled people in the media and disabled people in arts and culture to other committees. This is not specifically related to disability in these committees, or the assisted dying legislation, but to recognise that disabled people are not solely interested in disability services or their impairments. It is to be able to present around sport, culture and arts but also on issues relating to access to healthcare or in terms of targets around public housing. We make submissions regularly, but there is still that part of raising the awareness at a political level of the role of disabled persons organisations. It is not dissimilar to the policy implementation Mr. Sherwin talked about - there is some progress, but it is slow.

In terms of the pre-budget forms and Estimates, I commend the Department of Social Protection, which has had a very participative process for community organisations. As DPOs, that is where we see the value; it is to be there.

For the last two years, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality has begun a similar pre-budget Estimates process. We would like to see a little bit more in terms of getting under the hood of how that process begins at an earlier point because we often see systemic inertia. There is a budget allocation of just under €3 billion to cover what exists already but we lack investment in new thinking. Everyone will say that investing the majority of a budget in segregated services is not a good spend - it is not consistent the CRPD - but we are not sure how we get to invest in individuals and families to resource them directly through things like personalised budgets. That is the bit that we must move away from. Rather than large entities of section 38s and 39s that represent an older way of thinking and pre-date the Disability Act around putting people in separate spaces, it is about liberating families and liberating disabled people at the same time by providing the supports that they will need, not just now as children but into the future so that they are given opportunities to participate. Again, we are talking about the CRPD and around "mainstream-first" - that inclusion piece. We have started to see a little progression but we need to see, and I think the officials in the Department will admit it, some high level investment in innovative thinking. That is going to be the challenge.