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The Advocacy Council on behalf of the people supported by St. Christopher’s Services made submissions to Longford County Council during the public consultations on the Litter Management Plan in Ballymahon and Longford Town. Bernard O’Leary and John Millar played an active role in highlighting several issues affecting the Ballymahon area, while Triona Maloney brought forward important concerns relating to Longford Town itself. One key issue raised was the inaccessibility of bring banks for people using wheelchairs, specifically that they were too high to use comfortably. 

 In response, Longford County Council informed the Advocacy Council that accessible bring banks have now been installed in Granard and Longford Town as part of a new initiative. Members of the Advocacy Council were delighted to be invited to the official opening of the Accessible Bring Bank Centre in Granard, an event attended by Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary. Special thanks to Zoe McCreanor, Patrick McNeil, and Orla Mulligan for representing the Advocacy Council at this important occasion.

There’s been a real buzz across St. Christopher’s Service over the past few months and it’s all thanks to the development of our Advocacy Council. With the rollout of the Guidelines for Advocacy Structure, we’re proud to say our advocacy council was developed.

At St. Christopher’s Service, we believe that everyone’s voice matters especially the people supported by our services. That’s why the idea for an Advocacy Council was born, to create a space where service users can speak up, influence decisions, and help shape the services that affect them.

The idea for the Advocacy Council grew from listening sessions, feedback forms, and one-to-one conversations with the people who use our services. Time and again, we heard a common theme: “We want to be heard, and we want to be part of the decisions that affect us.” In response, we started looking at ways to bring service users together in a more structured and impactful way. We didn’t want to just create a council; we wanted to co-create it. That meant involving service users from day one.

We wanted the council to reflect the diversity of our service users. So, we opened nominations to everyone, no experience needed, just a passion for speaking up and helping others. We were thrilled by the level of interest! So many people stepped forward, ready to be a voice for change. With only 15 places available, we’ve introduced a ballot system, giving service users the chance to vote for the people who will represent them. We held the ballot over two days across all our day services, and the elected candidates were proudly announced in June 2025

To everyone who nominated themselves, gave feedback, or supported the process, thank you. We’re excited to see what the Advocacy Council will achieve and even more excited to keep listening, learning, and growing together.

Our new Advocacy Council completed the “Speak Up, Speak Out” self-advocacy training programme in June. This was a 4-week journey where members built confidence, learned about their rights, practiced leadership, and worked together as a team.

Speak Up Speak Out training is a personal development and assertiveness training programme for people with intellectual disabilities. It is designed to be energising, interactive and fun and it will be available to download on Inclusion Ireland’s website

As part of our Speak Up, Speak Out! training, the self-advocacy council had the exciting and empowering opportunity to meet directly with senior management and board members of St. Christopher’s Service. This meeting was a significant milestone, allowing our members to put their advocacy skills into action in a real-world setting. It created a space for open conversation where everyone could share their thoughts and plan for the future. The interaction was not only a confidence booster for the council members but also a valuable step towards inclusive and informed future planning within the organisation.