Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As colleagues have noted, today we celebrate the International Day of People with Disabilities. Many buildings are being lit up with purple lights and people are being encouraged to wear purple. The theme this year is "Not all Disabilities are Visible", and we see this often in the context of mental health and those who suffer traumatic brain injuries. It is about recognising that inclusion and accessibility are important for all of us in society in our day-to-day lives but also in our workplaces. I would like to pay tribute to accessibility groups such as Brothers of Charity and Ability West that run many organisations in the west of Ireland close to where I live. I want to thank the advocates who speak on their behalf and who have approached me many times with representations. Sometimes the things we can do to help are very simple and practical. For example, when those of us who have pets clean up after our dogs, it means that wheelchair users and those with prams do not have to clean them when they get home. There are many things that each of us can do at a practical level to help build awareness in the context of disability.

I also wish to highlight the importance of the rural regeneration fund. The deadline for applications from local authorities is coming up and strong applications have been submitted from Roscommon and Galway. The importance of the fund cannot be understated. It is crucial in the context of developing our towns and regions. Many of these applications are looking at matched funding. When local authorities are able to work with others to organise matched funding, this can only strengthen applications. In Roscommon and Galway, we are in a position to submit strong applications for the rural regeneration fund.