Mr. Damien Walsh:

If we think about employment, it goes to conversations about the cost of disability. It gives people income but also self-worth. People are participating in society. They are able to contribute and do things non-disabled people take for granted. We have found there are a number of barriers. They key part for disabled people around employment is two things. It is around school expectations and ensuring they have choice within the education system to explore what they want. What we are all talking about here is providing those supports at an early stage so people have the same expectations and the school system has supports in place for the transition to second and third level and further or adult education. People then build up confidence and an expectation that the pathway to employment for non-disabled people is similar to that for disabled people.

We did a huge consultation last year around disabled people's employment. That was crucial. The role of parents is crucial. Parents and family who have a drive, as we have seen today, for equality and inclusion are crucial. They place demands and expectations that their sons, daughters and siblings will be given the same level of opportunity. Not everybody wants to go to college but the suite of opportunities, regardless of impairment, should be there.

The ill-fated Green Paper was alluded to earlier. When there is a chance of creating systems around wage support or means-testing for secondary and tertiary benefits, it is important to engage disabled people. They are always the best, when given time and space, at thinking about what systems change would look like. These are simple things.

The access to transport is crucial, particularly for disabled people in rural areas. Are we investing in inclusive accessible transport so that when job interviews come up people can go for that? Do people have access to ISL? Do people have access to a personal assistance service from a young age so that they are building on that from a school system which is a really important part for us. People get a certain level of support at school but may not get that at a later stage. Why not create that system from an early age so that what people get as personal assistance determines what they want regardless of impairment so that being involved becomes the norm facilitating moving into employment and social interaction.

When we are looking at those systems and changes, we need to look at the wage subsidy scheme or the work and access programme from that early process, co-creating with disabled people. The work and access programme is a really good programme but none of it is online; it is all paper based. Immediately the disabled people we engage with say it does not work for them. It sounds like a great scheme to allow people to access the supports they really need and is very generous. However, there is a systemic barrier. How can vision-impaired people complete this? It is overly bureaucratic. Is there an assumption that people will game the system or do we create a system that is about promoting equality and inclusion?

The good intentions are mostly there but we need to be brought in earlier. The members need to be given the time and space to have a mandated representative say what will work for them. They are simple things. The Disability Act has a requirement for 3% recruitment and in the national disability strategy calls for 6% recruitment in the public sector. What does that look like? When people are applying how can we ensure reasonable accommodations are embedded in the public service? Do we need mandatory medical checks for employment? Will that rule out people who will be based at a desk and that it is not really required?

Are we ensuring that with future investment in our public buildings, they will be accessible? There have been issues raised about accessibility in this very building. We need to remove those barriers and create that visibility of disabled people in the system so that young disabled people will say, "I could do that; I could be that person."

I believe the Deputy referenced a DPO session in which one of my colleagues Peter Kearns was delivering. Peter is wonderful and he has appeared before this committee previously talking about disability equality. He was in Geneva earlier this year looking at Article 29 and the participation of disabled people at a local level through their DPOs but also as elected representatives. We had a position paper on that. It is really important for the political system to identify these systems barriers for disabled people to become elected representatives. When we see disabled people in positions of power as councillors - some of our members have had that role - TDs or Senators, we are creating an enormous sense of involvement and a sense that this is our country and we are making decisions.

As Senator Clonan said earlier, when we are talking about disability in this committee, we are not talking about individuals and are not making assertions about that. The point about the DPO network is that disabled persons organisations are collectives. With our members we identify our views on employment, health and legislation, and someone is mandated to bring that up at a local or national level. It is not the individual we are talking about, but people identifying the systems changes they want. That is the only way. There is no individual solution to a systems problem.

That is the point we are making about co-creating with this committee. We never doubt the bona fides of the elected representatives here. When we are talking about the UNCRPD, how can this committee work with DPOs to hold systems and structures to account? With other joint committees there is often a follow-up from the Department of housing on how it is trying to meet targets, a follow-up from the HSE on progress in provision of personal assistants or an update from the National Council for Special Education on how to make inclusive education a reality and what systems changes are required for that. Those are the bits we would like to delve into if we are given the time and space in the future.