A new resource centre for people with sensory disabilities was officially opened in Kilkenny yesterday by the President, Mrs McAleese.
The centre, which will support the needs of those with hearing and sight impairments in the south-east, is a partnership project between the National Association for Deaf People (NAD) and the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI).
Speaking at the opening, Mrs McAleese described the new centre as "a real example of the formidable power of partnership and cross-institutional collaboration".
The resource centre in Friary Street will offer a range of services to people with sensory impairments living in the region and will also display and supply a wide variety of audio and visual aids and appliances.
Mr Des Kenny, chief executive of NCBI, said there was a need for continued regionalisation of services.
"NCBI is committed to the provision of services to people in their own home or locality, and hopes to continue this trend through the development of further resource centres in the south-east and nationwide."
According to Mr Bernard Daly, chairman of NAD, the new centre is a "milestone" in the co-operation between the two main national organisations for people with sensory disabilities.
"We hope this resource centre will further our goal of assisting people with disabilities to achieve full and active participation in community life," he said.
The President spoke of how her own home life, as the sister of a profoundly deaf brother, gave her "a little bit of insight" to the world of those living with disabilities, "its difficulties, its complexity, its loneliness, its marginality.
"I welcome the many changes which have bridged old gaps and challenged old thinking, old presumptions.
"We have learnt a lot in recent years about the ways in which society has, often through ignorance or misguided good intentions, failed to recognise the full dignity and human rights of our people," she said.