Speech by John McFarlane at the Launch of NEW HORIZONS - Plan2015

Photo of John McFarlane

The Group looks ahead to the next five years confident that it has consulted widely, taken stock of the changes that are taking place in the lives of Polio Survivors, developments within the health sector and those in society at large. The lessons learnt and experiences gained have guided the Group in its preparation of NEW HORIZONS - Plan2015 and will be of great assistance in targeting its outcomes over the coming years.

NEW HORIZONS - Plan2015 will continue the beneficial programmes initiated under PLAN2010. These are working well and are the core business of the Group: this will not change. There is a need, however, to drill down deeper into the work in specific areas. While we continue with familiar themes and activities, we will place particular focus on areas which require invigoration and significant development.

A Polio Survivor who is well informed and able to put the necessary supports in place to achieve a safe environment within which to maximise his or her independence is indeed fortunate. A complex coalition of a number of support streams is required. Those which involve close personal support will rely on family, friends, other Polio Survivors, various voluntary bodies and medical staffs. Today the Post Polio Support Group formally recognises and thanks our carers on behalf of all our members. To those of you who have joined us today- a sincere THANK YOU: you represent our very own caring community.

The support provision being requested by Polio Survivors has changed in recent years. Many of the calls currently being made on the Group are from Polio Survivors who have recently made contact. Some have been neglected over many years and sometimes badly served by those charged with their support. Good results for Polio Survivors have come from close co-operative working between the Health Service Executive and the Post Polio Support Group, working at all times with the Polio Survivor. The Group envisages this kind of intervention continuing and, hopefully, increasing over the period of the plan.

It undertakes to work, in particular, with the Health Service Executive as its strategic partner to accomplish its vision for Polio Survivors.

The Group takes very seriously the responsibility it has been given: to represent Polio Survivors. It is keen to reflect their needs at all times and to promote constructive change in their lives. It undertakes to monitor carefully the changing context in which the Post Polo Support Group operates, particularly, changes, current and pending, in public administration in Ireland and altered circumstances for the donor community.

I wish to say a sincere thanks to all who help us financially-our support programmes which underpin the independence and dignity of Polio Survivors depend on our donors, whether at the church gate or in the boardroom. Without your assistance we can do very little. The Group is aware that the period ahead will be one of constructive change through the organisation. The average age of Polio Survivors in Ireland will exceed 70 in 2015. The Group will use this window in time to bring about a situation in which more Polio Survivors, despite a progressive neurological condition, can select and put in place the necessary supports to live a full, independent life.