School leavers and other adults with disabilities can attend Rehabilitative Training Courses run by the HSE or other specialist service providers. There are about 1,000 locations to do this training around the country. Rehabilitative Training Courses are courses to help develop life skills, social skills and basic work skills for people with disabilities. People who do these training courses usually have intellectual disabilities, complex physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, mental health difficulties or autism. Each year, around 400 school leavers enroll in these training courses. Trainees attend these courses for two to four years and are supported to develop and review training plans in line with their needs and abilities. Rehabilitative training is intended to help participants progress to greater levels of independence and integration in their community. It may help in transitioning to mainstream post-school education and training or to specialist vocational training. Participants who satisfy the relevant social welfare criteria may be eligible for a weekly Disability Allowance as well as a special training allowance, which is currently €31.80 per week. However, Minister Simon Harris and the HSE have decided to axe this extra training allowance of €31.80 per week for all school leavers who start a Rehabilitative Training Course in September 2019. In addition, The HSE, which has a deficit of €116 million, has warned that it may have to curtail funding to disability services. 1. Disability Women Ireland want the training allowance of €31.80 per week to be retained for individuals starting Rehabilitative Training Courses in September 2019. 2. Disability Women Ireland want to stop this threat to the funding of Rehabilitative Training Services. This training is extremely valuable to disabled people giving them skills, independence and the ability to contribute to Irish society. The Mission of Disabled Women Ireland is (DWI) is to be a National voice for the needs and rights of women, trans and non-binary people with disabilities and a National force to improve the lives and life chances of people with disabilities. “Equality for women, and equality for disabled people must work hand in hand if either is to be successful” — Disabled Women Ireland https://www.disabledwomenireland.org/ https://www.facebook.com/DWIreland/

Sruthan House, located in Dundalk Co. Louth, provides a vital respite service for people with physical and/or sensory disabilities. It is run by the HSE in partnership with the Irish Wheelchair Association. The centre provides twenty four hour respite care to both males and females aged 18 – 65 years old. Without Sruthan House their only alternatives are in Sligo, Roscommon and Dublin. This is Fine Gael's latest attempt at eroding our nation's health service and it cannot continue.

This is extremely important, we have school kids, College students, Elderly people and people with disabilities either going to school,College,Hospital or doctors appointments and people using the bus to get shopping, 1 an hour is not enough especially at peak times, not to mention at winter time when people are standing in the cold and the rain or snow with no bus shelter and a Bus thats due may or may not turn up, Stepaside is a huge population now and still growing, bus service no longer meets that growing demand.

Do you think that it is fair that Deaf community in Ireland can simply thrive in the UK with the provision of Access To Work Scheme funded by the British Government, but not here in Ireland? In the UK, Access to Work Scheme gives a wide range of reasonable accommodation such as sign language interpreters in the workplace, note-takers for meetings, and different supports that Deaf individuals may need. This scheme would not just benefit the Deaf community but all people with disabilities. People with disabilities are diverse including physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities and mental health and with the Access to Work Scheme, people with disabilities in the UK are thriving too with supports they need. This scheme in the UK has proved to be economically beneficial, that for every £1 spent on ATW, £1.48 is recouped by the government, as more people are in employment and not on dependent on the government welfare system. Unfortunately, there is no such scheme like that here in Ireland. Deaf community face severe barriers and discrimination in the workplace here. Deaf people are 2-4 times more likely to be unemployed than their hearing peers. Irish Sign Language (ISL) is the first and/or preferred language of Deaf community, of at least 5,000 Deaf people. As English is a second language for most of these Deaf people, there is significant difficulty in the workplace in terms of access. We regularly experience the effects of restricted access to supports, services and opportunities in the workplace including interviews. In Ireland, those majority of Deaf people, who are currently working have been in low-paid and low-status jobs with little hope of promotion. They tend to stay in their workplace for the long-term, rather than change jobs and achieve their career dream like their hearing peers. Work and paid employment serve to develop a sense of belonging with positive mental health benefits and identification with the wider community. However, Deaf people in Ireland continue to face barriers in employment and experience higher rates of poverty, social exclusion and under-employment. Deaf people get adequate supports in the education system but not in the workplace. The gap needs filling. It's been filled and resolutely proven to work abroad. In Ireland, employers are obliged to provide reasonable accommodation as long as it doesn't impose a disproportionate burden on the employer. Currently, there are some financial supports such as the Job Interview Interpreter Grant which pays for interpreters at interview and induction period. There is the Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant which only covers equipment and not interpreting costs. There is also the Wage Subsidy Scheme which pays approximately €10,000 towards salary costs of a disabled person who can prove they have a lower productivity level than their peers. A pool of funding is available however deaf employees cannot access this pool of funding to meet the costs needed for interpreting due to systematic barriers. The Reasonable Accommodation Fund by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection needs a major overhaul to allow talented deaf employees to avail of this. With funding like the Access To Work Scheme, Deaf people can simply thrive here in Ireland where they can contribute and enhance their role through Irish Sign Language interpreting on a daily basis like their hearing peers. This can lead to job promotions and achieving their career dreams. This applies to people with disabilities generally, they can thrive as well with adequate supports. We always tell our children to follow their dreams and that they can achieve anything they put their minds to. Right now in Ireland, all epsecially young Deaf people don’t always have the opportunity to pursue their dream jobs - not because they’re not able to do them - but because they might not be accessible. Let’s change that now. Thank you Joanne Chester email: [email protected] Supported by: Irish Deaf Youth Association Irish Deaf Society National Deaf Women of Ireland

This school provides so much more than just education and care for its 21 students, it gives those children a sense of independence and belonging. it’s also a growing school with an increase in students due next September

Under the Loco Parentis rule, parents of disabled children are restricted from leaving their own home while a respite nurse is in the home to provide in-home respite. An adult must remain in the home. This is not respite. Parents who are caring 24/7 for their medically fragile children must be able to recharge, run errands, go to medical appointments, spend time away with their other children, and much more. The siblings of the disabled children must also be able to have the most normal social life outside of the home as possible. For this to happen, parents must be able to leave the home with these siblings during in-home nursing respite hours. This rule is particularly discriminatory against lone parent carers who don't have a partner to be the adult to remain in the home as the Loco Parentis. Of all carers, lone parent carers are typically under the most amount of stress - physically and emotionally - and as such, being able to leave the home, even just once a week for 5 hours, is desperately needed. Ultimately, the best care possible for the disabled child is what is at risk if the parent carer is unable to maintain their own physical and emotional well-being. The other children in the family, and family unit as a whole, are also at risk of harmful, irreparable dysfunction if essentially trapped in their home due to such an inhumane, unjust, policy as is Loco Parentis. This rule, implemented by the HSE, is clearly a violation of human rights and the rights of children.

To be eligible to vote you must be 18 years-old and have been ordinarily resident in the year before the Register coming into force People with a disability have the same right as any other eligible person to vote There are 643,131 people in Ireland living with a disability, 13.4% of the population People with disabilities face a range of unacceptable barriers which hinder them from voting in the upcoming local and EU elections on the 24th of May Some of these concerns incude, a lack of disability awareness amoung returning officers which leads to people being challenged about capacity and voting supports, for example help from personal assistants Despite a High Court case, there is a very complex voting system for people with visual impairments In 2019, there is an unacceptably high number of inaccessible polling stations People with disabilities rarely receive instruction or other supports to encourage their participation in voting Given that many decisions that impact the lives of people with disabilities are part of governmental decision making, it makes sense that their voices should be heard This campaign aims to promote the inclusion, access and participation of people with disabilities in the voting system by promoting their rights INCLUDE THE DISABILITY VOTE

Ireland has changed, we are a more inclusive, equal and progressive society and sex education in Irish schools must reflect this. Young people we work with have said that sex education is not fit for purpose, does not reflect the variety of identities and sexual orientation of people today, putting the health and safety of young people at risk. Recommendations by the Oireachtas Committee on Relationships and Sexual Health, and the NCCA Review of the RSE, echo what our young people say.

The post office is at the heart of our town and is part of the social and commercial fabric of Liberty Square. it is easily accessible for people of all ages but particularly for those with mobility issues. It is also extremely convenient for people using public transport. The proposed re-location to a vulture fund owned shopping centre is completely contrary to Government policy to protect town centres and will decimate Liberty Square.

All patients should have the right to use all treatment suitable for them to have an opertunity to fight for a better quality of life and possible cure. Your chance of survival or quality of life should never be determined by the size of your wallet.

This is because the Finn Valley has a growing elderly population and a reducing number of potential family carers. Also parts of the area have little access to public transport and are quite isolated i.e the border and gaeltacht areas. For over three years the People of the Finn Valley and wider Donegal area have been asking the question about what is the future of St Josephs Community Hospital in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal. The government and HSE representatives have never given a clear answer on the future of the Hospital and have even provided conflicting information. The people of the area have twice held well attended public demonstraions where they marched from the Hospital in Stranorlar to Jacksons Hotel in Ballybofey a distance of 2.6km. Many who marched were over 60 and feel abandoned by the way they are being treated. We wish to know the answer of how many and what types of beds that are planned to be serviced at the hospital. What staffing levels will be retained in future at St Josephs in terms of Doctors, Nurses, Nursing Assistants, Administration and Ancillary staff. We want to know now what Capital Budget and other Budgets will be allocated and the plans that will be transformed into buildings i.e. refurbushements, extensions etc so as to meet HIQA standards.

It is important because I feel the cost and construction of the crossings could have and should have been put to better use. I feel that a one-way system around secondary school would have solved the problem and would have cost less, it is also important because it puts the safety of drivers and school children on the line and since they have been constructed one fatal accident has occurred at the location. Finally, it is important for those with authority to focus on smaller projects which would benefit communities more instead of larger un-necessary projects which cost more money.