Irish Examiner view: Paralympics reflects tremendous positivity amid the reality of disability

Sports fans following the exploits of our athletes in Paris would do well to listen to what they have to say about disability and ability 

Ireland’s Martin Gordon with pilot Eoin Mullen competing in the Men's B 4000m individual pursuit qualification at Velodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in the Paris Paralympic Games. Picture: Casey B Gibson/Inpho

The achievements of Daniel Wiffen, Paul O’Donovan, and the other Irish competitors at the recent Olympics continue to shine for us all and the memories should shorten the winter.

The Games were such a sprawling experience that it was hardly a shock to hear people say lightheartedly that they were looking for a replacement for the hours of volleyball, swimming, and athletics which had suddenly vanished from their TV screens.

Of course, that replacement is already to hand in the shape of the Paralympics, which are now under way in Paris. It is also a huge undertaking: This week the organisers revealed that, before Wednesday’s opening ceremony, approximately 2m tickets had already been sold for various events.

Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet said they expected ticket sales to remain brisk through the Games.

“It was the case for the Olympics; we sold tickets until the last day, even the last hour, and that’s been quite exciting for us to see that fans until the end were excited and really wanted to take the last opportunities,” he said.

That excitement among supporters is easily understood, given the competitiveness of the events and the fact many of the athletes have backstories revealing incredible resilience and determination. 

A participant such as Irish track cyclist Martin Gordon illustrates that resilience — but he also shows how the disability he acquired at 17 does not define him.

“I am more than my disability,” he told this newspaper. “It is always going to be there and it is going to be a factor, but there is me and there is the disability, and I am far more fun.”

It would be wrong to presume everything is perfect for disabled athletes. Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson had to crawl off a train in London this week due to a lack of staff, for instance. By acknowledging reality while also setting the terms of engagement in discussing that reality, however, Gordon moves the conversation forward.

That can only be positive for all, particularly when the Games come to an end and the spotlight fades.

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Students badly affected by housing crisis  

It is that time of the year again, when thousands of students learn how their future lives will be governed by the results of the Leaving Certificate examination.

Striking the right note in discussing those results can be difficult. It is clear that they represent a significant water-shed for many of those students, but it must also be acknowledged that they do not represent a binding contract with the future for the rest of those students’ lives.

Maintaining some balance and perspective is needed for more than just the results themselves. They also lead to the opening gambit in conversations all over Ireland about school-goers becoming students at third level, conversations which may be more difficult now than ever before because of one immense consideration: Accommodation.

The general crisis in housing and accommodation can be shown to have an unexpected impact in many areas, but here the challenge is overt. Finding affordable accommodation for third level students who must live away from home is an enormous headache for many families.

This problem spills into some unexpected areas. Last year there were student protests at Munster Technological University (MTU) in Cork because of a lack of parking places. At first glance this might seem the ultimate expression of student entitlement until the story was fleshed out: More students were driving longer distances to MTU because they could not secure accommodation that would allow them to live nearby.

The lack of student housing is not the most pressing aspect of the housing crisis; it cannot be if thousands of children are not housed.

But it must still be addressed. If the only people who can
afford third level education are those living near third level institutions then we face serious problems. In the short term, the housing crisis may effectively bar swathes of the population from our colleges and universities, while there may be knock-on effects on our national workforce in the future, and the balanced development of the country as a whole.

As a State, this is a test we cannot afford to fail.

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Positive trend in Irish life expectancy

At a time when there seems a general inclination to default to negativity, The Economist popped up with some good news lately about Ireland.

In a recent story the magazine focused on life expectancy in Anglophone countries, with particular reference to the general longevity of Australians compared to their counterparts in Ireland, the US, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.

What was less remarked-upon was the huge improvement in Irish life expectancy over the course of recent decades.

One graphic showed that in 1990 Irish women were bottom of the table, not living as long as women in the other countries, while Irish men were second worst in terms of life expectancy, with only Americans ranked lower.

However, by 2019, Irish men were second, and Irish women joint second (with Canada) in the longevity league. Irish men were living eight years longer on average and Irish women six years longer.

This is an extraordinary achievement by any standards — not just a significant extension in life expectancy but one achieved over the course of one generation.

While day-to-day challenges can sometimes be overwhelming, this is empirical proof of improvement in this country and should not be overlooked.