Mr. Peter Kearns:

Many disabled people are everyday environmentalists and are passionate about combating damaging effects on our environment. However, a measure such as banning plastic straws will have a very negative impact on the lives of some disabled people. Straws are part of disability history. Straws were one of the first examples of universal design. They were made for use in hospitals. Once disabled people achieved greater independence to live in non-medical facilities, we promoted plastic straws as an access tool.

As a result, any disabled person can go in to any bar, restaurant or café and get a drink. Being able to get a hot or cold drink in a social setting is important for all disabled people.

There are biodegradable plastics being designed but, as yet, none of them meets our needs in terms of straws. The current biodegradable plastic straws melt in our coffee and tea. In order to ensure that they are fully recyclable, these straws should be collected by the café, restaurant or pub and sent off to the USA for biodegradable processing in specially adapted ovens. They do not biodegrade in compost heaps. None of the current alternatives works right, and some are even highly dangerous. Some disabled people need something that is affordable, flexible, high-temperature safe, with a low choking and injury risk. So far, the only thing that meets these criteria is the single-use drinking straw. Banning plastic straws hurts some disabled people and has serious consequences on people being able to consume liquids. It is these types of decisions, which are made with good intentions to make life more sustainable, but have a serious negative effect on disabled people's lives that are a example of the real lack of a consultation process with disabled people and their DPOs in Ireland. Moreover, without mechanisms to engage meaningfully with authentic DPOs, there is a tangible concern that climate change policies will actually reduce the inclusion of disabled people in society.

We in ILMI believe that there is a need for a national blueprint of standards to ensure that proposed changes to improve the environments of our cities and towns reflect our commitments to "develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or provided to the public". The ILMI feels that Departments, with the oversight of our national human rights institution, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, should undertake a review of the design manual for urban roads and streets to reflect expectations and commitments under the UNCRPD.

We in the ILMI recognise that change is necessary to reduce our carbon emissions, but we feel that this can and should be done with our existing commitments under the UNCRPD to ensure that disabled people are not further marginalised and excluded from society through a failure to recognise that disabled people must have accommodation made to provide for transport and mobility needs. Better transport systems, better and more efficient homes, towns, cities and rural areas benefit all. We have fought long and hard to have systemic barriers removed that denied us our right to access and inclusion. These hard-won rights cannot be undone through the lack of strategic thinking that fails to embed inclusion in the development of sustainable towns and cities going forward. Again, climate disaster does not discriminate, that is the job of humankind.