The President, Mrs McAleese, opened a major conference on the theme "Youth - Beyond Disability" in Dublin Castle this morning.
The conference has been organised by the People with Disabilities in Ireland (PwDI) group as part of its programme to mark 2003, European Year of People with Disabilities.
The conference is the outcome of four regional seminars, that were held to identify the key issues and concerns of young people with disabilities.
The PwDI hopes to inform the content and context of future policy development and has called for the needs and aspirations of young people with disabilities to be built into what it terms a "realistic framework".
Four young Irish people and a young man from Slovenia who have a disability will address the conference today.
Other speakers will include the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform, Mr McDowell TD; the President of the Irish Human Rights Commission, Dr Maurice Manning; and the director of the National Disability Authority, Ms Claire O'Connor.