Letters of Support Archives - National Platform of Self Advocates

Mairead Boland-Brabazon CEO /Leader L’Arche Ireland

Letter to Minister Flangan re National Platform from Mairead Boland-Brabazon

Mairead Boland-Brabazon CEO /Leader L’Arche Ireland

Dec 16, 2019

Letter to Minister Flangan re National Platform from Mairead Boland-Brabazon

Donna McNamara

Dec 14, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am writing to you as a former constituent to express my deep concern at the news that The National Platform of Self Advocates is being forced to close due to lack of funding. I implore you to consider urgent action in this regard as the...

Tony Gapper

Dec 13, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, The closure of the National Platform of Self Advocates in January 2020 is simply an outrage, due to alleged funding concerns; which is run by individuals with intellectual disabilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. For those...

Jyrki Pinomaa – President Inclusion Europe

Dec 11, 2019

To Minister for Justice, Mr. Charlie Flanagan The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) clearly states that all people with disabilities have the right to be included in the community. The motto of the international disability...

Karen O’Shea

Dec 11, 2019

Dear Mr Flanagan From its very beginning the National Platform of Self- Advocates has sought to be an independent voice for people with disabilities and is unique in what it offers in this country. The Platform have researched, campaigned and offered their experience...

Richard Patterson

Dec 10, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am writing in relation to the recent announcement on the day referred to by social model of disability advocates and activists as International Day of Disabled People that the National Platform of Self Advocates “will be closing down [its]...

Inclusion Ireland

Dec 9, 2019

Letter from Inclusion Ireland to the Minister for Justice and Equality

Charlotte May-Simera

Dec 9, 2019

Dear Ministers, I am writing to express my serious concern about the recent announcement of the National Platform that they must cease their activities due to a lack of funding. This is the only independent advocacy organization, established over the last 8 years,...

Edel McSharry

Dec 9, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am writing to you with regard to the National Platform of Self Advocates. As I’m sure you are aware, the National Platform is having to make the decision to close in the New Year, due to a lack of funding. It is essential that this does not...

Emma Burns

Dec 9, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I’m writing to protest the imminent closure of the National Platform of Self-Advocates and to ask you to intervene to prevent the blow to disability rights in Ireland that this loss represents. Ireland was one of the last state parties to...

Disabled Women Ireland

Dec 9, 2019

Mr Flanagan, It is with anger and sadness that Disabled Women Ireland learned of the imminent closure of the National Platform of Self Advocates. It is entirely unacceptable that a state which spends a significant amount on “disability issues” fails to find and adapt...

Mark Kealy

Dec 9, 2019

Dear Minister, I am dismayed to learn that the National Platform of Self-Advocates have been forced to announce they are ceasing operations from January due to an absence of funding and support for their work. I have been involved with advocacy groups since the 1980's...

Centre for Disability Law and Policy

Dec 9, 2019

Centre for Disability Law and Policy, Institute for Lifecourse and Society, Dangan, North Campus NUI Galway. info.cdlp@nuigalway.ie 6th December 2019 FAO: Minister Charlie Flanagan CC: Minister Finian McGrath RE: Letter of support NPSA The Centre for Disability Law...

Adrian Carroll

Dec 8, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding the impending closure of the National Platform of Self-Advocates, a national organisation led by people with intellectual disabilities to represent the voice of people with intellectual...

Maria Walls

Dec 8, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am deeply disappointed at the lack of on-going funding to support the extremely important work of the National Platform of Self Advocates. Similar groups exist in all other jurisdictions some called People First. They need adequate on-going...

Paula Brennan

Dec 7, 2019

Shelley Gaynor -ILMI

Dec 6, 2019

Dear Minster I am writing to you in relation to closure of National advocacy Platform. As the Former chairperson of Independent Living Movement ILMI. I know firsthand of the importance of having a disabled persons organisation to hear the true authentic voice of...

Desmond Aston – INHEF

Dec 6, 2019

This is a pdf of the letter written by Des Aston, chairperson of the Inclusive National Higher Education Forum.

Helen McGloin

Dec 6, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am urging you to engage with the stakeholders in the true spirit of partnership as suggested below by my colleague Susan Carton and ensure that this service and the valuable network and support is not lost. Best wishes Helen McGloin PhD...

Carmel Jennings

Dec 6, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am writing to let you know of my huge disappointment at the closing down of the National Platform of Self Advocates due to lack of funding. How can you justify this decision? Functioning democracy depends on citizens having equal rights and...

Fiona Walsh

Dec 6, 2019

Dear Minister McGrath, I am writing to you to raise awareness of the importance of funding Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPO’s) and especially regarding the position of the National Platform of Self Advocates (http://hsv.digitalclare.com/) which has stated it cannot...

Catherine O’Leary

Dec 6, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I write to express my disappointment at the announced closure of the National Platform of Self Advocates, Ireland's only Disabled Persons Organization (DPO) operated by those with intellectual disability. The consultation and involvement of...

Susan Carton

Dec 6, 2019

Sarah Lennon

Dec 6, 2019

Dear Minister Flanagan, I am writing to you with dismay at the news that the National Platform of Self Advocates is to close after almost 9 years due to a lack of funding. The Platform has been a critical voice for people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland, a...

Letter from the Clare Public Participation Network

Dec 5, 2019

The Clare Public Participation Network sent a letter calling for urgent support for the National Platform of Self Advocates to Minister Charlie Flanagan. This is a pdf of the letter.

Inclusion Europe – Irish self-advocacy organisation closing down for lack of funding: “This is truly unacceptable!“

Dec 4, 2019

Yesterday, the Irish “National Platform of Self Advocates“, an independent self-advocacy organisation, announced they will be closing down due to a lack of funding. According to the platform, after having received financial aid by a philanthropic organisation, the...

Donna McNamara

Dear Minister Flanagan,

I am writing to you as a former constituent to express my deep concern at the news that The National Platform of Self Advocates is being forced to close due to lack of funding. I implore you to consider urgent action in this regard as the closure of this organisation would be a significant loss to Irish civil society.

As one of the last countries to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the momentum among the disability-rights sector in Ireland has never been higher. Organisations like the National Platform have worked tirelessly, both before the ratification, and in the time since, to highlight the many obstacles within our society for people with disabilities. However, there is still much work to be done if we are to be in line with our obligations under the Convention and therefore, organisations like the National Platform need public support and funding in order to be able to continue.

I have been proud to support the work of the National Platform on previous occasions, and look to their expertise within my own work as an academic. If their input is lost within the sector in Ireland, we are at an immediate disadvantage going forward. Their members – who give of their time voluntarily – have regularly met with Government Ministers, taken part in conferences and training events, produced research which has practical implications and made recommendations for reform, and engaged with the drafting of legislation such as the Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Act. We as academics have learned from the tireless commitment and work that has been produced by Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs), such as the National Platform, which is then fed into our research and teaching practices.

As a small country, we are fortunate to have access to a number of organisations who give of their time and expertise to attend events and speak at conferences (often without payment), engage in law and policy-making and participate in academic projects. The National Platform was Ireland’s first ever DPO and since that time, its members have been to the fore in all of the above engagements. As a DPO, their experience and participation cannot be understated. It is an organisation that is run by people with intellectual disabilities themselves. Too often, the voices of people with disabilities are side-lined and overshadowed by other groups with vested interests (including parents, caregivers, social care professionals, academics, politicians and medical professionals). We must not allow this to happen.

By providing funding to the National Platform, it will enable them to continue their vital work and play a part in the reporting process which Ireland is due to undergo as part of the UN CRPD. Indeed, the Convention itself was built on the framework of inclusion of people with disabilities and their representative groups throughout the entire drafting process. The motto “Nothing About Us, Without Us”, has now become synonymous with the disability rights movement and the final text of the Convention, but such words will ring hollow in Ireland if we lose the National Platform due to a lack of funding.

The closure of this organisation has sparked widespread dismay, not just in Ireland, but across the disability sector worldwide, as is reflected by the outpouring of shock across social media following the news of their closure last week. I am concerned about what the closure of this organisation says about us as a country, and our commitment to the UN CRPD, to our international peers, and I genuinely think this will reflect badly on our political leaders if nothing is done to support organisations like the National Platform.

I call upon you to support the work of the National Platform by way of providing proper funding, to ensure that we do not lose the very valuable input that their members bring to Irish society.

Sincerely,
Dr Donna Marie McNamara

Lecturer in Law
The University of Newcastle, Australia

Tony Gapper

Dear Minister Flanagan,

The closure of the National Platform of Self Advocates in January 2020 is simply an outrage, due to alleged funding concerns; which is run by individuals with intellectual disabilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

For those directly and indirectly involved, this must be prevented, as often disability services are one of the first in a line of savage cut-backs. Yet, for true inclusion to determine life choices, disabled persons must have full, meaningful participation in all areas of their lives, not as mere bystanders, jumping to the tune of non-disabled people with their outmoded policies, that do not come close to the real, everyday concerns.

I have a son, Ryan, who has autism, ADHD and epilepsy and in two and a half years time, he too will be an adult with intellectual disabilities. We need to give, rather than take away.

I presently work for Ability West with service users who have intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, etc. Believe me, all of these people are human beings, and thrive on experiencing laughter, embarrassing times and taking reasonable risks, together with all of the other things that make up life.

I am also a current student at St. Angela’s College, part of NUI, Galway, studying for a Masters in Disability Studies, Year 1 Certificate.

I witness disability on a daily basis, from a personal, work and educational lens, while structured, environmental and attitudinal barriers are still alive and kicking.

Please spread happiness and security for those very people with intellectual disabilities, while reversing this closure for good. The very last thing disabled people want is to have no service whatsoever, coupled with an ever diminishing voice.

No experience is richer than that which derives from the lived experience of disabled persons.

Please address this concern with the utmost urgency.

Kind Regards

Tony Gapper

Mairead Boland-Brabazon CEO /Leader L’Arche Ireland

Dec 16, 2019

Letter to Minister Flangan re National Platform from Mairead Boland-Brabazon

Donna McNamara

Dec 14, 2019

Tony Gapper

Dec 13, 2019

Jyrki Pinomaa – President Inclusion Europe

Dec 11, 2019

Karen O’Shea

Dec 11, 2019

Richard Patterson

Dec 10, 2019

Inclusion Ireland

Dec 9, 2019

Letter from Inclusion Ireland to the Minister for Justice and Equality

Charlotte May-Simera

Dec 9, 2019

Edel McSharry

Dec 9, 2019

Emma Burns

Dec 9, 2019

Disabled Women Ireland

Dec 9, 2019

Mark Kealy

Dec 9, 2019

Centre for Disability Law and Policy

Dec 9, 2019

Adrian Carroll

Dec 8, 2019

Maria Walls

Dec 8, 2019

Paula Brennan

Dec 7, 2019

Shelley Gaynor -ILMI

Dec 6, 2019

Desmond Aston – INHEF

Dec 6, 2019

This is a pdf of the letter written by Des Aston, chairperson of the Inclusive National Higher Education Forum.

Helen McGloin

Dec 6, 2019

Carmel Jennings

Dec 6, 2019

Fiona Walsh

Dec 6, 2019

Catherine O’Leary

Dec 6, 2019

Susan Carton

Dec 6, 2019

Sarah Lennon

Dec 6, 2019

Letter from the Clare Public Participation Network

Dec 5, 2019

The Clare Public Participation Network sent a letter calling for urgent support for the National Platform of Self Advocates to Minister Charlie Flanagan. This is a pdf of the letter.

Inclusion Europe – Irish self-advocacy organisation closing down for lack of funding: “This is truly unacceptable!“

Dec 4, 2019

Jyrki Pinomaa – President Inclusion Europe

To Minister for Justice, Mr. Charlie Flanagan

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) clearly states that all people with disabilities have the right to be included in the community. The motto of the international disability movement has since the launch of the UNCRPD been “Nothing about us without us”.

Ireland’s first disabled persons organization, The National Platform of Self Advocates, is the only one in Ireland which is directed, managed and run by people with intellectual disabilities. Since 2011, they have advocated for the rights of disabled people. They have more than 350 members. Their work is done by their steering committee. They are all volunteers and none of them draw down salaries.

Their costs have been few, their contribution has been huge. They have members on the Disability Advisory Committee that is monitoring the implementation of the UNCRPD. They have done their own research into the lives of people with intellectual disabilities living in Ireland and presented these findings to the government.

Now their work is about to end. They will be closing down their operations from January 2020 due to an absence of funding or suitable supports for their work.

Self-advocacy organisations, like The National Platform of Self Advocates, fight for inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. If they stop working, people with intellectual disabilities lose their chance for inclusion and equality.

No European government should let that happen. Yet, this is now happening in Ireland.

This development is truly unacceptable. States must provide funding for self-advocacy organisations which represent people most likely to be excluded from politics and other areas of decision-making. The UNCRPD is very clear stating that all people with disabilities have the right to be fully included in the community.

Ireland and European Union have ratified the UNCRPD.

People with intellectual disabilities are one of the most excluded groups in European societies. This turn of events in Ireland is the ultimate demonstration of a situation where self-advocacy organisations are often the first to lose funding.

Jyrki Pinomaa
President
Inclusion Europe

Karen O’Shea

Dear Mr Flanagan

From its very beginning the National Platform of Self- Advocates has sought to be an independent voice for people with disabilities and is unique in what it offers in this country. The Platform have researched, campaigned and offered their experience on many issues that they see as vital and important. They have worked voluntarily and tirelessly to create a more just and equal society – one that we will all benefit from. I cannot believe that when it is more vital than every before to ensure that people with a disability have a voice that this organisation is being silenced in through the lack of government support and funding. It is an absolutely shame.

I call on you to do all in your power to make sure that this does not happen.

Kind regards

Karen O’Shea

Richard Patterson

Dear Minister Flanagan,

I am writing in relation to the recent announcement on the day referred to by social model of disability advocates and activists as International Day of Disabled People that the National Platform of Self Advocates “will be closing down [its] operations from January due to an absence of funding or suitable supports for [its] work”. In short Minister Flanagan, I believe that there is no justifiable reason why the required funding cannot be provided directly through the Department of Justice and Equality to the National Platform of Self Advocates.

At the time of writing, it is a fact that it is now over a decade ago since I graduated in 2008 with a Higher Certificate in Arts in Advocacy Studies based on a social model of disability foundation and was awarded a Citizen’s Information Board Medal as the best overall student in the graduating class of that year. It is also a fact that at the end of 2008 I was “discharged from the care of medical model of disability based mental health services” funded by Irish taxpayers, having spent the fifteen previous years of my life under that “care” on the basis of claims made to me by “mental health professionals” that I “was suffering from a lifelong and enduring mental illness”. The fact also is that it is only now in 2019 in Ireland that the opportunity has become available to me to further my studies of social model of disability principles to postgraduate and master’s level as a Disability Studies student of St Angela’s College Sligo – NUI Galway.

Aside from fifteen years of experience in self advocacy as an Irish Mental Health Service system survivor, I also have six years of survival experience of fulltime employment from 2010 to 2016 as a peer advocate by what I believe should be, but which I believe is currently not, a disabled persons organisation being operated according to the principles of the social model of disability.

I put it to you Minister Flanagan that on 3rd December last you received a copy of an email from me containing the following statement:

Dear President Higgins,

On 22nd November 2019, Dr. Terry Lynch, physician, psychotherapist, mental health educator, best-selling mental health author, provider of a recovery-oriented mental health service, and, Member of A Vision for Change Expert Group on Mental Health Policy (2003-6), Member of A Vision for Change Independent Monitoring Group (2006-9), Member of A Vision for Change Second Independent Monitoring Group (2009-12), and Member of HSE Expert Advisory Group On Mental Health (2006-8) stated that:

Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris have IGNORED documents I sent them both – by registered post, 12 months ago now – comprising of a detailed letter from me, personal contributions from over 30 people, and the signatures of over 200 people.

The purpose of this document was to formally inform Messrs Varadkar and Harris that they are currently presiding over a mental health system that is every bit as scandalous as the outrages of the past – e.g. Magdalen Laundries, Tuam babies, clerical sex abuse, etc – which politicians have been publicly stating must never happen again.

Why President Higgins can pharmaceutical manufacturers and their representatives have their voices heard with such apparent ease while the voice of Dr. Lynch and those of Mental Health Service Survivors the length and breadth of the country are being so blatantly ignored? Pharmaceutical companies do not speak for us! Nor do See Change, Green Ribbon’s, Aware, Shine, Mental Health Reform, Mental Health Ireland, The Mental Health Commission, The Mental Health Engagement and Recovery Office, or, Irish Advocacy Network speak for us!

I call on you President Higgins to meet with and speak with Dr. Lynch and with those Mental Health Service Survivors who know only too well the fraud and the abuse that has occurred and is still occurring throughout our nation.

Richard Patterson,

County Leitrim.

I also put it to you Minister Flanagan that during my six-year career as a peer advocate I witnessed situations where people were detained in the “care” of Mental Health Services funded by the Irish state who were labelled by “Health Professionals” committed to the ideologies of the medical model of disability as “People with Intellectual Disabilities”. J.H., as referred to in the 2007 High Court Judgement [2007] IEHC 7 – 2006 1719 SS – 02/06/2007, H. -v- Russell & ors, I am a witness to the fact was one such person. While almost three years had elapsed after this judgement before my recruitment as a trainee peer advocate, J.H. had been detained by the “mental health services” all of that time. Although I am glad to have played a minor personal role in securing his eventual release, I believe that J.H. should never have had his liberty removed from him by his state as it was for so many years. I echo the words of Dr. Terry Lynch as previously quoted in stating that I believe that the manner in which J.H. was treated was “every bit as scandalous as the outrages of the past – e.g. Magdalen Laundries, Tuam babies, clerical sex abuse, etc – which politicians have been publicly stating must never happen again.”. The kind of situation which J.H. was forced to endure is I believe however, neither unique nor confined to historical Irish contexts.

I reiterate Minister Flanagan that I believe that there is no reason why the Department of Justice and Equality should not directly provide the funding required for the work of the National Platform of Self Advocates to continue. This is a matter of upholding citizen’s rights and not of charity! I urge you to take immediate action to make such funding a reality, and I invite all fellow psychiatric system survivors and their allies who feel at liberty enough to do so, to join me in making this call to you.

Richard Patterson,

County Leitrim.