GOAL 1

1 Make the lives of people with disabilities better: We aim to influence changes in law and policy and in our communities and to be part of the UNCRPD shadow report process.

Form an alliance of Disabled Persons Organisations who share our values to lead the CRPD shadow report.
Take part in 4 national public consultation processes.
Establish formal representation for the National Platform on national policy-focused bodies and advisory committees.
Participate in the CRPD implementation process.

Milestones

1. Established the DPO Network along with 4 other DPOs.
2. Participated in two national consultation processes, bringing the total this year to seven [7].
3. Increased number of national advisory groups on which Platform members participate to six [6].
4. Continued involvement in CRPD State report via the now disbanded DPO Coalition.

Beneficiaries

120

Activities

1. Attended two meetings of the newly formed DPO Network in February and March.
2. Organised and facilitated consultation with the Housing Agency to suggest actions for the implementation of the Housing Strategy for people with disabilities.
3. The Platform appeared before the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on the 15th of February to discuss further the provisions of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill.
4. Acceptance of Joe McGrath on the Transport User Advisory Group (TUAG) with initial online inductions and introductions.
5. Dermot Lowndes is representing the organisation on the HSE’s National Steering group for the development of Guiding Principles

Challenges

1. Communication and accessibility challenges.
2. No accommodations made for how we process information.
3. Not being given enough time.
4. Inappropriate pacing of meetings and processes.
5. Technological and internet access challenges.
6. Participation difficulties due to covid.

GOAL 2

Empower people like us to become self-advocates: Train our members to understand policy and to be good facilitators and self-advocates.

Restructure the National Platform into a CLG.
Develop existing leaders’ skills by giving them opportunities to represent the Platform at high-level policy-making consultations.

Milestones

1. Participation in national consultation processes (see Goal 1 section 3).
2. Participation in research projects as expert voices.

Beneficiaries

7

Activities

1. One of our members was invited to participate in the CDLP research project: Access to rights for people detained in secure forensic mental health facilities in Ireland.
2. Christina Burke is a member of the Advisory Group for the ResPoNCE Project, Health Research Board Cov19-2020-144.

Challenges

1. Challenge to resources (not enough facilitation available to ensure that Platform members can participate equally and record and distribute information after their attendence at meetings).

GOAL 3

Use technology to improve communication for our most isolated and marginalised members.

Train all existing Platform leaders to use Zoom.
Where possible, ensure all steering committee members have independent access to a smart device.

Milestones

1. Goals achieved.

Beneficiaries

0

Activities

1. All steering committee members are trained in Zoom.
2. Some members are being trained to host meetings.
3. The Platform have purchased a subsription to Zoom for Business.

Challenges

1. Internet access in rural areas can still be a challenge. 2. The cost of devices and fees can be difficult for people on disability payments as these fees amount to a higher proportion of their income.

GOAL 4

Expand the National Platform nationwide: Strengthen our regional groups and empower them to respond to local events as skilled advocates.

Increase Platform membership to 350.

Milestones

1. Increase membership.
2. Hold first regional meeting of Platform relaunch.o 350.

Beneficiaries

35

Activities

1. 10 new people have applied for membership. New membership model is going to be tested in the next quarter.
2. Held first refresh regional meeting with some of the Munster members.

Challenges

1. Gatekeeping – we still have difficulty engaging our members directly and often have to go through staff members. This has negative implications for the independent participation of our regional members.
2. Communication – (related) it can be hard to get our message to our members directly.

GOAL 5

Increase our profile: Promote our unique voice through media and insist on being included in policy consultations

We will take part in at least 4 national public consultations and issue a press release for each one.
We will advocate for accessible public consultation processes.
Platform representatives will apply for positions on state advisory committees as they come available.

Milestones

1. Participation in public consultations as previously recorded.
2. Advocated for greater accessibility.
3. Successfully secured poitions on state advisory committees as previously detailed.

Beneficiaries

We have not yet developed a system of recording our online interations and impact.

Activities

1. We have built our Facebook following from 566 to 581
2. Our Twitter following has increased from 1008 to 1023 through information sharing and community interactions.
3. Joe McGrath’s appearance at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Assisted Decision Making Act was broadcast on Oireachtas TV and the link to the recording was shared with our members.
4. Joe’s personal report on the inaccessibility of the Oireachtas Committee process was submitted to Oireachtas members and to IHREC.

Challenges

1. We have not made any press releases about our participation due to inadequate resources. We need to figure out how we can develop our communications strategy in a way that matches our resources.

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