Mr. Robbie Sinnott:

I will cover two points before answering the transport question. As far as I know, in Norway blind people receive the average industrial wage because the State recognises the discrimination encountered in terms of employment. That scheme should be extended here to blind people and people with other disabilities. In Ireland, the Census 2016 figures show that at least 75% of blind people at an employable age are unemployed. That is not due to anything intrinsic to them but is due to systemic discrimination.

The blind pension has anomalies. It is discriminatory to discriminate from one disability to another. Many blind people find themselves in receipt of the blind pension. There is much less of a disregard for a spousal income for the blind pension when compared with the disability allowance. Again, the medical card disregards are much higher for the disability allowance than for the blind pension. In terms of bank accounts, again there is a difference because one is allowed to have €50,000 for the disability allowance yet only €20,000 for the blind pension. These are disablist anomalies and is pure discrimination. There probably are cases waiting to happen but I do not know. The European Union laws are quite weak on discrimination against disabled people. We definitely have a ridiculous situation in this country. Another anomaly is that it is difficult for a person to be transferred from a blind pension to the disability allowance.

In terms of the Department of Transport, we have been in contact with the Department over the years but we have been ignored roundly and soundly. In October 2020, we wrote to the Minister for Transport and only got an email response in June 2021. The Minister, in his email, said that he understood the DPO thing. He also said that he would let the National Transport Authority know about it and bring any matters that we raised to a consultative committee on accessibility, which apparently is comprised of disabled people.

There are about ten statutory committees located throughout various Departments, the HSE, etc. These are not DPOs but are mostly representatives of service providers or individuals. The whole idea of a DPO is that it channels the voices of personal lived experience into collective agency and pooled expertise. That is its advantage. Instead of talking to 500 or 1,000 people the State can talk to one organisation that can say it has talked to its members over the years and knows from experience what happens thus ensuring that everyone is more in tune with realities. However, we have been left in no-man's land in terms of the Department of Transport.

Accessibility looks bleak because the Department insists on putting cycling and walking paths together. We want cycling and walking paths completely segregated. Over the past 15 years I have been knocked down five times in Dublin by cyclists using the footpath. Therefore, complete segregation is needed. We do not paths lowered to 50 mm to accommodate cyclists but raised to 125 mm like in Northern Ireland. We have compiled a 23,000 word document on transport needs and planning but what is the point in doing that work if nobody is interested? The CRPD says that we have to be prioritised in this work.

We have regularly met representatives of Irish Rail. The Pelletstown railway station is newly opened but we got zero consultation on that and any proposals that we did make were completely ignored. There is a proposal to have shared space in Tralee. In Limerick, the situation has completely deteriorated and the shared space at the plaza is completely inaccessible to blind people. Projects are going ahead and the powers that be do not care and have their own agenda.

For the Luas West or Luas plus, there is talk of having shared spaces with cyclists and pedestrians going over bridges. We have repeatedly said that shared space is dangerous. It is as dangerous to people over-70 years as it is to a blind person who cannot see a cyclist approach. Various bridges have already been created but they are being used as skateboard ramps. Irish Rail has its own agenda. It gives no thought to social justice and climate justice. It has its own narrow and blinkered way of looking at things.

Ms Niamh Daffy:I thank Senator McGreehan for her questions. I thank her for her kind word about the disability inclusion training that she attended recently. I will answer one of the questions and Mr. Doherty will answer the question on supports for clubs.

My organisation's team does not currently have an individual with a disability but we did in the past. We do have individuals with disabilities who engage with our organisation in other areas through members of our board of directors where we have individuals with disabilities but also some of our board of directors have personal experiences through family members. Senator Martin Conway is one of our board of directors and he is joining this meeting today.

Senator McGreehan mentioned ambassadors. We have ambassadors of our organisation who are individuals with disabilities across various sectors of society. We are very much connected to the Paralympics. Also, some very high-profile role models connect with us from time to time. Equally, we engage with individuals with disabilities who have come on board as champions of inclusion in sport and physical activity.

We have launched a campaign that is connected to the charter that I mentioned in my opening statement. The charter is very much about the voice of people with disabilities and what people ask of the sector. As we developed that campaign we engaged with individuals with disabilities to become champions of our organisation and promote the vision of society that is inclusive when it comes to sport and physical activity. We engage with those individuals from time to time to develop some of our projects across the organisation.

As we move to develop our new strategy we are very conscious of engaging with the sector as a whole. We seek to listen to the needs of people with disabilities from the point of view of their experiences and challenges but, in particular, what gaps exist across the society and discovering ways to enhance active and health lifestyles for individuals with disabilities. That is not only in the sports sector but right across the sectors of education, health, disability and outdoor spaces. Even from today, I look forward to engaging with some of the individuals that are on the call here, and the organisations they represent, so that we can further embed the message of inclusion, and having active and health lifestyles for everybody.

I hope that I have answered the Senator's questions and Mr. Doherty will respond to the question on clubs.