Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Kevin Humphreys. As he knows, funding for projects under the Disability Activation Project, DACT, is due to end in April.

In 2012, approximately €7 million was approved for a range of projects, including the Walk Peer programme in County Louth. It was a great day for disability and people in the Dundalk area when the Tánaiste launched this back in 2012. This programme has flourished due to Disability Activation Project, DACT, funding. Walk Peer in County Louth has enabled 118 young people with disabilities to engage with mainstream opportunities that were not previously open to them. If funding ends in April, as I understand it will, and is not renewed, five staff who work on the Walk Peer programme will lose their jobs and over 100 young people in County Louth will lose this vital link and support.

I can attest to the excellent and inspiring work of Walk Peer in my area. The programme fills a gap in services for people with a disability and provides individualised support to assist in ensuring that people with a disability do not experience long-term unemployment early in life. The Walk Peer programme and staff have been recognised as leaders in their work locally and nationally, having recently been invited to present as a model of best practice at the National Disability Authority conference. Indeed, they have received awards in both Dundalk and Drogheda for workforce development and best training initiative in the county. They have proved themselves. I have also shadowed participants in the Walk Peer programme over the past two years and can attest to the enjoyment, benefit and learning they gain from these courses. I will single out one person and how they have benefited. I had the good fortune to teach a student who left school, was then deemed ineligible or not ready for employment or further education, went into the Walk Peer programme, has now graduated from that and has a place on a local PLC course. This is something that not many people would have thought possible a few short years ago. It shows the excellent work done by trainers, co-ordinators and all the help that has come together to ensure that people with a disability get the best they can.

This is why I have taken this issue up today. I fully support the work of Walk Peer, as do many people in County Louth who have heard of or come into contact with this excellent service. One Walk Peer participant with whom I spoke recently told me they loved meeting up every Monday morning as it is the chance to do something different with the hope of getting some outcomes. These testimonials can be found all over the place. Walk Peer provides hope, support and confidence to young people on the programme. I could go on for hours with testimonials and positive responses, which are key because one knows that one has a good programme going.

I would appreciate it if the Minister could address certain issues today, including the DACT evaluation. When will this take place and when will it finish? Surely it is important to conduct this evaluation while the Walk Peer programme is still in place rather than in April when it will be all over? Could the Minister also outline what will happen to participants on a programme like Walk Peer when the funding ends in April 2015? As I previously mentioned, more than 118 people have been involved. We have had the opportunity to address the funding issues for Walk Peer and other successful DACT projects. We need to secure and ensure access to this valuable and empowering service for young people with disabilities.