In the past I have worked in the media reporting on disability issues. I was disappointed to see that promises made years ago were not fulfilled by subsequent governments and this motivated me to run in the 2014 local elections.
I am passionate about making a real and lasting difference in the area of health and disability at a local level. Some of the initiatives relating to health and disability to date include promotion of walking and fitness in the county, bringing motions to Council asking for autism friendly services and support on recognition of deaf-blindness. One of the most important achievements to date in relation to disability has been the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities.
In 2018 I went public about my own experience and the systemic failure in this area. Not much has changed in 10 years and I have called for legislation to address this issue. I have spoken on RTÉ and Newstalk about this on a number of occasions sharing my own experience and outlining my concern over the lack of funding in this area.
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In 2019 I was delighted to launch the Autism Spectrum Collection (ASC) in my own local library in Stillorgan.
ASC is a dedicated collection of resources collated with the needs of the autism community in mind. This new booklet produced by DLR Libraries includes a reading guide as well as a lending collection and is designed to offer support to the autism community and those with additional needs in Dún Laoghaire – Rathdown.
