Early last year, Disability Federation of lreland (OFI) decided to undertake research into\ud
physical, sensory and mental health services provided through its affiliated organisations. The\ud
federation considered that it was still difficult to get a picture of the general state of\ud
development of these organisations, their ranges of services and other activities. The\ud
federation also observed that the recent, major strides forward in the learning disability\ud
voluntary services' sector were facilitated and underpinned by an understanding of the\ud
opportunities and challenges facing that sector. In the light of these considerations, the\ud
federation commissioned the present research