Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, but my question was about any additional supports. I heard what the Minister of State said about the money she has distributed this year. She mentioned the Leitrim development company. It does excellent work. I am very familiar with it. What I am looking at more is the mainstreaming of support for placement and that there would be a level of core funding to train farmers to set up models for social farming.

There is also the idea that if people themselves had access to a disability budget rather than most of it being given to the large providers, people would be able to make choices. That would help us in delivering on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, UNCRPD, where people with disabilities could make choices as opposed to the system being funded. Will the Minister of State expand social farming beyond agriculture and look at the idea of disability budgets for people?

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