Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Thank you, Cara.

I thank the DPO Network for coming in. It is great to see five organisations working together. It is a fantastic idea. They have similar aims but are coming from different backgrounds and are sharing and combining ideas. Well done to them. I would like to acknowledge the critical insight shared in the opening statement. Co-creation definitely requires investment.

It is not an abstract value. It is practice-dependent on infrastructure, time and resources. The need for sustainable funding for a DPO, staff, Irish Sign Language, translation, policy capacity and reasonable accommodations is urgent and valid. I would be happy to meet the representatives again. They made a great point that we should have involved stakeholders more when we were planning our work agenda. It is definitely a lesson learned for me. It is something that just did not dawn on me. I worked with people with disabilities in another life so I know what is going on, but we certainly should have involved stakeholders more. That is a great idea. Apologies from me.

I have a few questions. What legislative changes would the witnesses' network like to see in the coming years to better support disabled people? In their experience, how has the lived reality of disabled people changed in Ireland over the past decade? How can the committee work with them to ensure that real changes happen? Given their extensive experience in disability advocacy and their work, what specific recommendations would they make to ensure successful implementation of a new national disability inclusion strategy? How can we ensure it is effectively actioned and monitored and delivers real impact for disabled people in Ireland?