Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA)

Lobbying Organisation Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA)

Date published 20 Jan, 2016

Relevant Matter Matters involving public funds

Public Policy Area Budgetary matters

Period 1 Sep, 2015 to 31 Dec, 2015

Specific Details On behalf of our 20,000 members, Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) called on the Government to increase the number of Personal Assistant Hours in the 2016 Budget.

Intended results The Personal Assistant Service supports individuals in their homes and communities facilitating community participation, access to education, employment and an overall improved quality of life. Personal Assistant Hours are essential to ensure that people with disabilities can live equal and independent lives in the same manner as their family members, friends, neighbours and peers. IWA called on the Government to give priority to this issue and to respond favorably in the Budget for 2016.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Joan Carthy - IWA Advocacy

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? Yes

What is the directive you gave to the grassroots campaigners? IWA asked service users who currently receive Assisted Living Services from the Association to: 'Call on their local elected representative, to give priority to allocating more Personal Assistant Hours to people with disabilities in the budget'. This was communicated by sending a letter to each individual who receives an Assisted Living Service from the Association. A dedicated webpage was designed and published by IWA containing all relevant information about the campaign. Four specifically designed postcards highlighting the importance of the service were produced by IWA and a selection were sent to each service user inviting them to send a postcard directly to their local TD at Leinster House.

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Mass communications

Meeting All TDs On behalf of IWA - Joan Carthy IWA Advocacy Coordinator and/or Anita Matthews IWA Public Relations & Communications Coordinator met with TD's to highlight the importance of the Personal Assistant Service to people with disabilities and the urgent requirement for additional Personal Assistant Hours.

Submission All TDs On behalf of IWA - Joan Carthy, IWA Advocacy Coordinator and/or Anita Matthews IWA Public Relations & Communications Coordinator provided TD's with Irish Wheelchair Association's Pre-Budget Submission which was published to inform and educate the reader as to why more Personal Assistant (PA) hours are critical to both the person with the disability and the state.

Letter All TDs IWA asked each service user who receives an Assisted Living Service from the Association to send a purposely designed postcard to their local elected representative. The postcards highlighted the benefits and importance of the service to the individual and explained that appropriate Personal Assistant hours provides people with the ability to: 1: Live Independently 2: Contribute in society 3: Access Education 4: Access Employment 5: Contribute to the exchequer

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Meeting (31-50)

On behalf of IWA - Joan Carthy, IWA Advocacy Officer and/or Anita Matthews IWA Public Relations and Communications Coordinator met with TD's to present the Associations Pre-Budget Submission and to discuss in detail the importance and need for additional Personal Assistant Hours and for the appropriate funding to be allocated to this area in Budget 2016.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Joe Costello TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Lucinda Creighton TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Willie Penrose TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Simon Harris Minister of State (Department of Finance)

Timmy Dooley TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Bernard Durkan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Richard Boyd Barrett TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Niall Collins TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

David Stanton TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Robert Dowds TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Olivia Mitchell TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Jerry Buttimer TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Anthony Lawlor TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Finian McGrath TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Tommy Broughan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Regina Doherty TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Emmet Stagg TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Jonathan O'Brien TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Tom Hayes TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Noel J. Coonan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael McNamara TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Damien English TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Barry Cowen TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Derek Nolan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Terence Flanagan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Seán Kelly MEP (European Parliament)