Irish Examiner view: People with a disability must not be ignored by candidates

Problems are not going to go away as children develop into adults

Disability rights campaigner Cara Darmody outside Leinster House on her weekly sit out protest for better disability funding. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

While the forthcoming election will undoubtedly focus on the big-ticket items such as housing, the cost of living, and immigration, candidates and parties would do well not to ignore one of the lesser publicised issues — Ireland’s disabled.

With the Economic and Social Research Institute having recently highlighted the fact that 23% of 13-year-olds here are now labelled as having some disability or other, they also point out that the figure was only 6% as recently as 2011/12.