REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE DISABLED PEOPLE OF CLARE SEMINAR
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE DISABLED PEOPLE OF CLARE SEMINAR “CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF DIASABLED PEOPLE OF CLARE”
Tá lúcháir mhór orm bheith i bhur measc inniu ag an ócáid speisialta seo agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl díbh don fáilte a raibh fíor agus flaithiúil.
I am very happy to be here with you in Clare today and I wish to thank Dermot Hayes for the kind invitation to address this Seminar on “ Celebrating 10 Years of Disabled People of Clare” and to launch your video. I would also like to thank you all for your warm welcome.
It never ceases to amaze and to hearten me when I reflect on the countless numbers of people I have been privileged to meet as President, who selflessly devote so much of their time and talent and energy to helping others.
At some stage in all our lives, each and every one of us is affected by disabling conditions of one kind or another, either directly or through the experience of family or friends or neighbours. When this happens those affected often find themselves faced with many questions, emotions and challenges. Thankfully in Ireland we have these wonderful people in every community who are there to lend a hand up, to give real support and help and guidance, those who epitomise the very meaning of the word ‘caring’.
Carers have to dig deep, day in and day out for the energy and focus they need to carry out their precious vocation just as our brothers and sisters with special needs have to dig deeper than any of us can imagine, to find the spirit of joy and hope that makes life worthwhile even with its difficulties.
It is thankfully, reassuring to see how much progress has been made in the care and treatment of people with disabilities in recent years. The emphasis has shifted from a culture of complete dependence to one of effectively supported independence. The work of the Disabled People of Clare Organisation has contributed much to help achieve this very important independence for the people in this area.
Your organisation although still very much in its infancy, being only ten years in existence, has made huge strides in its short history. You have given a voice to people with disabilities in Clare and have ensured that that voice extends to decision-making about the provision of services for the people in the community you serve so well. You provide an important and wide range of services for people with disabilities in the Clare area, services which bring a real improvement to life quality. They are all hugely important to the people who avail of them, who depend on them in order that they can play their full part in the life of their community.
I know for example that you have recognised the benefits modern technology has to offer and through close co-operation with the Central Remedial Clinic in Dublin and supported through funding from the Ennis Information Age fund, you have developed the capacity to train people in the use of technology and exploit its advantages to the full.
I was pleased to learn that, as well as your co-operative venture with the Central Remedial Clinic, you are also involved in a number of other important projects such as:
A Community Employment Programme, in conjunction with the Centre for Independent Living and FÁS, employing 25 people and providing Personal Assistance services to disabled people;
A European Funded project for the Arts involving some 120 of your members providing experience in such areas as stage craft, lighting and voice projections with the emphasis on developing the senses in an Arts context for people with physical and sensory disabilities;
A project funded by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on gathering and collating information on matters such as entitlements for people with disability and making this information available in an accessible manner for people with disabilities, for example on CD ROM or in Braille format.
All are very relevant and all are very worthwhile. No doubt through the years ahead this list will grow, as those who benefit from them grow and develop and realise their true potential.
It is of great importance that Irish society understands that men and women, boys and girls with disabilities have the same needs and fundamental rights as any other group in our society. The right to participate fully in the life of their communities, to develop their own talents, to put their abilities to work for themselves and others, these are essential hallmarks of an inclusive society and in this country we strive to achieve that truly inclusive society. Each and every one of us possesses our own special God given talents. What makes a life happy is the discovery of those talents, the experience of watching them grow and blossom. They are our most wonderful natural resource and if they are wasted, the individual is destined to live a lost, tragic life and society generally is destined to be impoverished and diminished by the waste of that talent.
Your work here brings us one step closer to a truly inclusive society, in which difference is approached not in fear, but with a joyful sense of curiosity towards the wonderful gifts that everyone has to offer, if we are only willing to help create effective and equal opportunity. We still have some way to go before that fully inclusive equal opportunity society is real but we are lucky to be living through times of much greater possibilities and much greater wisdom.
I commend each and every one of you who embarked on this journey that commenced just 10 years ago and helped make this community what it is today. You have much to be proud of as the rest of us have much to thank you for. May your work and faith be vindicated by the many people whose lives you have touched and enhanced and changed because of what you have done here. You have achieved much and no doubt will achieve much more in the years ahead.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus gúim rath Dé air sa todhchaí. Go raibh maith agaibh.