Dr. Vivian Rath:

As noted by Mr. Fergus Finlay during the week, this is not about disability but rather inequality. What we can discern from Ms Costello's comments, for which I thank her, is that we disabled people face inequality in our right to access our vote. As members are aware, public participation does not end with voting and this is also about active citizenship, having one's voice heard, seeing action and being involved in the community. It is about people feeling as if they belong. Article 29 of the UNCRPD also calls on state parties to actively promote an environment in which disabled people can participate in public affairs on an equal basis with others and to stand for election. The extremely low representation of disabled people in the Dáil and the Seanad reflects the inaccessibility of the current environment.

Disabled people face many barriers to candidature, including the extra costs of disability. There are accessibility barriers, including the unavailability of Irish Sign Language interpreters or personal assistants and inaccessible meeting venues, information and transport etc. There has been a failure by political parties to select disabled candidates and a lack of supports for disabled people to engage with local government structures, such as their local public participation network, PPN, as highlighted in a report by Wexford PPN recently. This leads to political invisibility.

To make progress in this area, we disabled people recommend that all parties undertake a cross-party political pledge to promote and support the election of disabled candidates. In addition, reasonable accommodation must be provided for disabled electoral candidates to remove some accessibility barriers. We must establish a fund for elected office to cover the cost of disability faced by disabled candidates. Similar funds were established by a similar committee in the UK.

At local government level we suggest that guidance and a bursary is provided to county councils to support initiatives that promote participation of disabled people in order to facilitate their active citizenship. Today, we, the disabled people, are sharing our experiences of being left off the decision-making table. By being left out, we do not have the opportunity to contribute to our own destiny. We are here, making recommendations on how best to move forward.

Following this presentation, some members may point us to the electoral commission but they too can bring about change. We want Oireachtas Members to lead by example and be the change they want to see. What steps will the committee members take to increase the number of disabled people engaged with political participation here in Ireland?