9.00am Registration, 10.00am - 4.00pm Conference
Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise
€50 IASW members/€120 non-members
Event fee includes lunch and refreshments.
We are delighted that Deputy Emer Higgins, Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, will speak at the conference.
The Disability Special Interest Group (SWID) was established as a forum for social workers engaged in all areas of disability services. Membership includes practitioners from Children’s Network Disability Teams, adult disability services, hospitals such as the NRH, and voluntary agencies.
This full day event will focus on recognising the right of children and adults with disabilities to be decision-makers in their own lives. We will explore active participation by children with disabilities in choices and decisions about their lives and services, and promote the will and preference of adults with disabilities examining what this means for Social Work practice.
Social Workers in Disability work in partnership with people with disabilities, their families, carers, colleagues and service providers. Our role is to advocate, assess needs and barriers, coordinate services, provide emotional and practical support, and empower individuals to enhance their quality of life and live more independently.
Confirmed speakers include:
Letting Pride take Flight: Building a Safe LGBT Community for Adults with an Intellectual Disability
Empowering voices through engaged research: examples from research involving people with intellectual disabilities
A personal reflection – “My story as a young child with a disability in institutional care”
Eilín de Paor, BSc(OT), MSc (Dev.Dis.), PhD, M.A.O.T.I. is a Corú-registered Occupational Therapist and a Clinical and Research Manager with almost 30 years’ work experience in the Irish health and disability service sector. She currently works with St Michael’s House services in Dublin and has recently completed a PhD through the Centre for Disability Studies (CDS), University College Dublin (UCD) School of Psychology.
Eilín’s research interests include engaged and practice-related research, research ethics, universal design in research, transition from school to adult life, and social inclusion. In her clinical practice, she has managed various interdisciplinary staff teams, served on operational and strategic groups at organisational and regional levels, and participated in the design and evaluation of services, policies and practice. Her particular clinical and management interests lie in the areas of: engagement with and empowerment of those using services, ethical practice, oversight of restrictive practices, interdisciplinary teamwork, clinical pathways, supervision, individualised planning and supports, and multi-agency collaboration.
Eilín was Chair of the St Michael’s House Research Ethics Committee (REC) from 2015 to 2021 and member of a study-specific REC convened by the Irish National Disability Authority (2022-2025). She has provided guest lecturer inputs to the UCD CDS since 2016 and was Adjunct Assistant Professor with the Centre (2019-21). She has previously served on the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland Conference Committee (2000-5) and ID Advisory Group Committee (2001-5) and was editor of the Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy (1998-2000).
Maria Gates is a Senior Social Worker in Prosper Fingal, a section 39 agency that supports adults with an intellectual disability. Maria is an experienced social worker having worked in a variety of fields including mental health both child and adult; medical social work and child protection. Maria has over 20 years experienced in the field of intellectual disability. She has also been facilitating Sexuality and Relationship Education with adults with an intellectual disabilities for over 9 years. Maria completed the LGBT Ireland Champions training in 2022 and this gave her the skills and knowledge to develop supports for the LGBT community in the field of intellectual disability. Maria will be co-presenting with service users on a LGBT Social Group for adults with an intellectual disability.
Lisa Flanagan is Senior Social worker in Prosper Fingal, a section 39 agency that supports adults with an intellectual disability. Lisa worked in child protection and has over 20 years experience in the field of intellectual disability. Lisa has been facilitating Relationship and Sexuality Education in the area of intellectual disability for 18 years and completed a course in Sexuality and Relationship Education with Callan Institute in 2016. Lisa also completed the LGBT Ireland Champions training in 2022 and has a keen interest in developing supports in this area for adults with an intellectual disability.
In 2023, Maria and Lisa, in collaboration with service users, established Bród Butterflies, an LGBT Social Group for adults with an intellectual disability. Bród Butterflies is a Dublin based group providing opportunities for service users to build friendships and connect with romantic partners in a safe and inclusive space. The group meets approximately every 2 months in Outhouse LGBTQ+ centre in Dublin city centre. The group is open to adults with an intellectual disability in the wider Dublin area. This small but mighty group took part in the Drogheda Pride Parade in 2025 and the group hopes to grow and build more connections over time.
Mary Lynch is Principal Social Worker with Horizons Cork ( formerly Cope Foundation) She has been a social worker in the area of disability for 28+ years in several different disability organisations. She has worked to support and advocate for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families in a variety of roles. She has also worked as a social worker in fostering and in medical social work prior to this. Mary is the current chair of SWID and is also active with the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies.
Her presentation will touch on her lived experience of institutional care for three years, due to a disability, and how this translates into keeping the voices of the children and adults we support and their families as the lodestar for all we do.
Sarah Page is a Senior Social Worker on the Coastal Children’s Disability Network Team, where she has worked for the past three years. She has 16 years of experience in child protection and fostering with TUSLA, supporting children in care and their foster families through assessment, placement planning, ongoing support, and advocacy. In her current role, she works with children with complex disabilities and their families, providing support and counselling, advocacy, group facilitation, and assistance in adjusting to a diagnosis and accessing wider HSE services, including home care and respite. Sarah has completed the Hub na nÓg training on child and youth participation in decision-making in 2025, reflecting her commitment to child-centred, strengths-based, and rights-focused practice.
Sarah Whelan is a Principal Social Worker in Adult Disability services in St Michael’s House. Her experience in disability services over 25 years has allowed for an opportunity to work with both children and adults, their families and caregivers. Sarah has a particular interest in ADMC legislation and the shift it offers in supporting people in the decisions relevant to their lives. Sarah believes that ADMC legislation allows for a strong Social Work / Social Care voice in amplifying the principles of the Act.
Sarah believes that there is a role for Social Work to question, advocate, assess and apply nuance to all ADMC discussions Sarah has undertaken capacity assessments for part 5 applications under the act and for statutory reviews in the circuit court. Sarah has been a Decision Making Representative on the Decision Support Service Panel since 2023.
