Disability organisations from all over Ireland, who under The Next Steps project co-ordinated by the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies, won a prestigious international award, celebrated the win in Tullamore on Friday, May 28th.

In her keynote speech to the representatives of the disability organisations who are involved in the Next Steps Project, Independent MEP Marian Harkin said that the Award presented at the United Nations offices in Vienna was a public recognition of the very progressive services being provided by a range of disability organisations throughout the country. “All of these organisations are to be congratulated for their truly inspirational work which seeks to ensure that people with disabilities are enabled to live independent lives of their own choosing”, she said..

Continuing she said:- “We need immediate action to ensure that all persons with disabilities have the same choice in living their lives as every other individual.  Life is for living and not a dress rehearsal and people with disabilities should be able to determine not just where they live but how they live, just like the rest of us.

“The essential message is that the services put in place for persons with disabilities should meet the real needs of the individual rather than be met by a programme that somebody somewhere decides is good for them and the programmes developed by Irish disability organisations are a living testimony of this”, independent MEP Marian Harkin concluded.