Direct Payment: the lived experiences of eight individuals in Ireland

This following piece of research identifies the life experiences of eight individuals in receipt of Direct Payment in Ireland. Direct Payment is funding for persons “who need assistance with a range of daily living activities to buy their own support” (Carmichael et al, 2002 p.798). Initially the literature on the subject of Direct Payment was examined and the themes that emerged from this were, the movement from a medical model to a social model of disability, citizenship, personalisation and individualised funding supports. Policy in relation to people with disabilities, from the 1937 Constitution onwards, was reviewed and the incremental changes were outlined. It was noted that there are still 4000 individuals in institutional care despite proposal to move towards independent living. This research was done under the auspices of Community Academic Research Links (CARL) which is an initiative in UCC which assists Civil Society Organisations (CSO) with research they wish to undertake. Full cooperation was received from Áiseanna Tacaíochta (ÁT-network) which is the first and main organisation to facilitate Direct Payments to people with disabilities in Ireland. The ÁT-network nominated the topic for research with the agreement of CARL, the thesis supervisor and the researcher. Having interviewed the eight recipients of Direct Payment the advantages of this system became evident. The final recommendations included a move towards a Direct Payment system with appropriate information and training and adequate safe guards against exploitation