Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Committee on Disability Matters
Participation in Community Life for Persons with Disabilities: Discussion
2:00 am
Mr. Kevin O'Brien:
Resources is the word. We could all do with more resources. From Variety's aspect and what we do, to mention respite I am leaving here today to go to Galway to present a special mobility trike for respite centres. That is what we try to do. We do not really provide services; we provide programmes. For us, collaboration is good. We work with different Departments and different organisations to get out there to drive as much inclusion as we can. This can be seen out in Meath where we presented trikes, the cycling clubs we will be introducing and even the bee kind project, which is bringing communities together. What is more important to us is happy smiling faces, integration and inclusion. People should never be judged on their disability; they should be judged on their ability to do things. That is where we are currently at with Variety and the programmes we are pushing out. We try to bring people together. The stuff we did with Dublin GAA two weeks ago was amazing. We had 30 clubs from Dublin all in one place. There were smiley happy faces - people in wheelchairs and people with additional needs. It was about the fun, the laughter and bringing the families together so that they could have fun. It was great. It was absolutely fantastic. That is where we are coming from. All organisations use resources. It is not only having the money but it is about what you do with the resources and being clever with them. As I said earlier on, research is always really good. If you are going to push for any type of funding you need to have it scientifically backed up. We went with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland for everything we do on this. It is great.