REMARKS AT THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE “PARTNERSHIP – THE KEY TO QUALITY SERVICES”
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE “PARTNERSHIP – THE KEY TO QUALITY SERVICES”
Dia daoibh, a chairde. Tá lúcháir mhór orm go bhfuil mé ábalta bheith anseo libh inniú, agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh as an chuireadh, agus as fáilte a bhí caoin, cneasta, agus croiúil.
I am very happy to be with you here today. I wish to thank Brendan Sutton for the kind invitation to come here to open the Conference on “Partnership – The Key to Quality Services”. I would also like to thank you all for your warm welcome to me. I understand that there are many visitors from overseas here with us – some for the first time. I hope that you will enjoy your visit and take some time to savour the beauty of the island of Ireland, rich in culture, traditions and heritage. I doubt you will be disappointed and I hope you will return again.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the European Association of Service Partners, the Federation of Voluntary Bodies and the Disability Federation of Ireland for organising this Conference. It provides an important forum for you to share experiences and develop new and better ways to assist the most vulnerable, and for so long, the voiceless in our society.
The real measure of the success of society is how far we go to make it truly inclusive – to provide a place for everyone to acquire confidence and to blossom - and to give them the opportunities to make their own contribution. A society that does not give everybody their chance is impoverished by the absence of that unique contribution.
It is an unfortunate fact that for many years the attitude of people towards disability was a negative one, which contributed to what was the effective exclusion of many of our citizens from participation in the political, social, economic and cultural activities of their communities. Thankfully, however, there has been a major change in the attitude of society over the last two decades and we have become much more aware of the needs of the individual and the necessity for every group in our society to have an active role in their communities.
Correspondingly, voluntary and statutory agencies have come together and formed a strong and vibrant partnership that
Another very positive development is the much greater focus now on participation in the decision making process, by people with disabilities where those decisions effect their lives. They now have a very real input into the manner in which services are provided, as do organisations involving parents and friends. This is a very welcome development and gives recognition to the need for every sector of our society to have a voice and to contribute their experiences, talents and abilities. When we hear the whole story, get a fuller picture, we take another important step towards realising a truly inclusive society – a truly caring society.
As we look to the future – to the next century and the next millennium we face many challenges – among them the challenge to meet the highest possible standards of health care and services. And where we have achieved much in this regard, we still have a way to go. As I look around this room and see so many of our brightest and best, willing and committed people, dedicated to helping others, I know that we are in safe hands and that whatever challenges we will meet in the next millennium, through partnership we will rise to meet them. As we say in Irish ní neart le cur le chéile – there’s no strength without partnership.
I hope that your Conference will be a major success and I wish you well in your deliberations.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.