Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 7 April 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters

Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion

Mr. Leo Kavanagh:

On politics, as I stated already, in the Houses of the Oireachtas today we have 0.5% representation by people with visible impairments. I am sorry, but that is not good enough. In the last census of population, 13.5% of people bravely stated that they had a disability of one form or other. There is a big difference between 0.5% representation and 13.5% of the population. That is why I am looking for a quota system for people with disabilities so they can also be part of the political sphere.