I am an Accessibility and Usability consultant under the name Feel The BenefIT.
I have worked for over 30 years as a Software Engineer with a bank in Dublin.
I am a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society, which is the primary Irish organisation “serving ICT professionals and specialists in Ireland”.
I hold a Degree in Economics from University College Dublin.
I have been active for over 25 years with national and international organisations which are concerned with the social inclusion of people with disabilities.
I am a former Chairperson of the Irish Council of People with Disabilities, which was the largest organisation in Ireland representing people with disabilities, their parents and carers.
I was a founder member and first Chairperson of the Visually Impaired Computer Society.
I, with former UCD Registrar Prof. John Kelly, initiated the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).
I have been active on the National Boards and subcommittees of various mainstream organisations in Ireland which relate to ICT issues. This includes the Information Society Commission which was set up by Government to advance Ireland’s readiness to take advantage of the Information Age.
I am a member of the European Disability Forum and have frequently represented them at conferences and meetings. EDF promotes the interests of over 80 million people with disabilities in Europe.
www.edf-feph.orgI have spoken at conferences in more than 25 countries on 5 continents on various disability-related issues. These include USA, Australia, Thailand, Kenya, Egypt, Tunisia and widely throughout Europe. I spoke at both phases of the First World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva and Tunis.
