Disabled people lack basic facilities

I AGREE fully with the assertion (Irish Examiner, May 4) that those affected by mental illness “remain a largely forgotten constituency in a political no-man’s land”.

As a social worker, I feel strongly that people with a handicap have a right to be treated as individuals. They also have a right to participate in normal life in the community in the least restrictive environments appropriate to their needs.

Sadly, this is not the case. All over the country there are mentally and physically handicapped people, elderly people suffering chronic arthritis and other illnesses, many of them in urgent need of shower/toilet facilities, stairlifts and adaptation of their houses for easier movement.