Congratulations to all Stakeholder Forum members on completing their first two year term.
What is the St. Michael's House Stakeholder forum ?
The membership includes service users, family members and academic representatives. The Forum was set up so that people who have a stake in our service have a way of hearing about what we are doing and our plans for the future, and can tell us what they think about these plans and about the needs of people with an intellectual disability as they see it.
The Forum has discussed many areas of particular concern to members including respite, supporting service users to speak up for themselves, the Pre-School Support Service and communication with families.
Highlights
One of the highlights was the April meeting with John Dolan, Chairperson DFI. Forum members prepared written questions in advance, relating to employment, housing, rights and advocacy, individualised funding, public transport, and promoting positive attitudes. Senator Dolan highlighted the need to target the appropriate public service provider when addressing problems, and offered to facilitate meetings with the Dublin local authorities to address issues within their remit.
The Chairperson, Dr. McCormack, has given a report to the Board on how well the Forum worked and making suggestions for improvements in how it might operate in future.