Mr. Patrick Flanagan:

I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for the invitation to contribute. On behalf of my colleagues at the Independent Living Movement Ireland, ILMI, we welcome these opportunities to address issues of policy and provision for disabled people across Ireland. We also welcome the recognition of the ILMI as an authentic voice that represents the lived experiences of disabled people.

We will all agree that disabled people have an equal right to work and should be given the supports that they need to access or retain employment, and to have the same career opportunities as others.

In its 2021 report the Irish State made 35 observations under Article 27 of the UNCRPD relating to work and employment. We will all agree that this suggests substantial work is being done but we may not all agree on whether or not this work has been, or will be, successful. I will share ILMI’s view on this question, through our observations on Ireland’s first draft report to the UN under the UNCRPD in April 2021, ILMI’s submission on the review of the reasonable accommodation fund, RAF, of May 2022 and ILMI’s CREATE project, which is an employment initiative supported by the Dormant Accounts Fund and which has run from March 2021 to the present.

It is important to note at this point that ILMI’s observations and feedback emerge from inclusive and participative spaces that bring disabled people together as a collective on a cross-impairment basis. As a result, the views and experiences we share are diverse and varied just like those who offered them.

ILMI’s vision for Ireland is one of an inclusive society where disabled persons have freedom, choice and control over all aspects of their lives and can fully participate in an inclusive society as equals. The UNCRPD is an important tool in providing a framework for the realisation of this vision, with employment a key pillar alongside housing, transport, and personal assistance services. Inaccessible or in some cases, non-existent public transport, as well as unaffordable private transport, prevents disabled people from being able to travel to any potential place work. Remote working, while beneficial, is not possible for some roles or in some areas due to poor broadband infrastructure. It also risks pigeonholing disabled people into specific types of work, as well as isolating them from their colleagues and work communities. There are also serious attitudinal barriers and employers who demonstrate negative perceptions about work productivity among their disabled employees.

Time efficiency is often quoted as a reason for a disabled person not getting a job, and job applications often require statements of impairment or additional needs which many fear will undermine their prospects for success. Disabled people can be made ineligible for supports once they begin to earn above certain thresholds, and can lose secondary benefits which many disabled people rely on, such as a free travel pass, blind pension and the medical card. The rising cost of living and the cost of disability combined with the risk of losing essential benefits means that disabled people face the prospect of being worse off should they take up employment. ILMI welcomed the recent review of the reasonable accommodation fund, RAF, and the chance to address some of the issues disabled people experience in respect of reasonable accommodation.

Currently in Ireland some employment supports are only available at entry level or interview stage for disabled people, while others do not follow the person throughout their employment journey. The job interview interpreter grant is available to persons with a hearing or speech impairment but only at interview and induction stages of work, unlike the personal reader grant. Meanwhile the workplace equipment adaptation grant supports a range of provisions, including assistive technologies. However, these must be first purchased by employers and cannot be retained by the employee should they change jobs, putting repeated, unreasonable and unnecessary costs on employers and the State.

With work accommodations, there is a repeated onus on disabled people to have to apply for supports and the provision of these is not administered in an open and transparent way, nor through the same schemes or State Departments. These are also framed through a medical model of disability and highlight a person’s impairment and limitations, rather than their professional qualities and potential, which reinforces the attitudinal barriers already highlighted.

I am conscious of so far having only told the committee what the problems are. Let me share some solutions and the positives that we see at ILMI. particularly through our CREATE project. CREATE works with disabled people across Ireland, delivering professional and peer supports that aim to grow their confidence and capacity to start or progress their employment journey. I have had the privilege of leading this project for the past 14 months and have worked with a hugely diverse community of people of all ages and abilities. Every person has had their unique skills and qualities, and every person has shown a willingness and ability to positively contribute to our society as workers.

The success of our project, and our participants, has highlighted for us a number of important lessons. One is the variety of different ways in which people can and want to work. There is no one-size-fits-all approach and our employment opportunities must be reflective of, and adaptable to, the diversity of disabled workers. The same must be said for reasonable accommodations, which should be provided more effectively, aligning the support with the needs of the disabled person themselves.

As I have mentioned, CREATE’s focus is on finding confidence rather than explicitly finding a job. This might seem unconventional or insufficient for an employment project but confidence is at the core of ensuring that disabled people have an equal right and opportunity to work. We must have confidence in our own ability to work. We must have confidence in employers’ willingness to hire and capacity to support us. We must also have confidence that the State and society will provide for, and not penalise, us when we seek employment opportunities.

If we continue to adopt the social model of disability over the medical model, and continue to put views and voices of disabled people at the centre of our conversations, we are confident that Ireland can meet its obligations on Article 27 and ensure that we can all participate as equals in the labour force and society.

I thank the members of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and my colleagues. I look forward to their questions.