Equality report - Our disabled deserve a fairer deal

IF society is measured by the way disabled people are treated, Ireland has a long way to go before those on the margins can be regarded as getting anything like a fair deal here.

Judging by alarming figures just issued by the Equality Authority, discrimination against disabled people is getting worse.

As the equality report shows, the disabled suffer more discrimination than any other sector of society. The document is scathing in its comments on how those most in need of support are treated.

In a nation that likes to boast of its Christian ethos, not to mention its new-found status as one of Europe’s richest economies, the disabled are treated as second-class citizens.

The fact that a quarter of the authority’s workload last year involved complaints from people with disabilities speaks volumes. According to Niall Crowley, chiefexecutive of the Equality Authority, significant barriers are being put in the way of people with disabilities as they seek to participate in society.

Overall, about 400,000 people living in Ireland have some form of disability. There can be no denying that many are shamefully treated, finding it extremely hard to penetrate a system where the cards are stacked against them.

In all, the authority received almost 200 complaints from disabled people last year. Despite lip service from employer groups, the case files relate predominantly to failure by companies and service providers to make necessary adjustments for people with disabilities.

As outlined by Mr Crowley, the core issues involveallegations of discrimination in working conditions, dismissal and access to employment and allegation of discrimination in access to education and to public sector services.

One of the biggest problems involves the growing level of discrimination in the workplace based on age grounds. In a related report, the Dublin voluntary agency, CARE Local, which helps the elderly remain in their own homes, has to rely on fundraising. Despite a strategic plan on caring for the elderly, launched two years ago by Health Minister Mary Harney, they get no financial backing from the Health Service Executive.

Given the rapid influx of immigrants in recent times, it was perhaps predictable, but by no means excusable, that racism in the workplace is a serious problem, with 12% of the Equality Authority’s cases involving abuse of migrant workers.

Overall, the authority received 103 complaints from workers claiming racist abuse; 88 from Travellers; and 83 on gender issues despite 30 years of gender equality legislation. There were also 31 reported cases of sexualharassment.

As Irish society gets richer, it gets less caring and the problems facing disabled people get worse. Warning that the true picture is probably unknown, a lobby group for disabled people points out that discrimination has been endemic in this country for many years.

According to activist Michael Ringrose, who heads up People with Disabilities in Ireland, the level of equality complaints is actually lower than it should be. As many disabled people have experienced educational disadvantage, they often have difficulty securing rights and entitlements. This problem is exacerbated in a skewed system where disabled people are not entitled to State support as a right.

As seen in case after case, the parents of children with disabilities like autism are invariably dragged through the highest courts in the land by government ministers when they seek educational and other concessions.

With the uncertainty of legal costs hanging over their heads, adding to the sheer stress of taking on the system, it is shameful that people have to fight for basic rights and entitlements that could make all the difference between fulfilment and deprivation in the life of a disabled person.