Disability

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, we saw a disastrous and inhumane erosion of disability rights. Disabled people’s specific needs were not taken into consideration and many lives were lost due to governmental negligence and lack of care.

Stormont has ignored disabled people’s calls for a robust disability rights framework and for prioritising investing in sustainable and effective disability services.

Disabled people continue to be underrepresented in paid employment. Poverty levels among disabled people continue to be high and many carers for disabled people struggle to make ends meet on the meagre support offered by the government.

For example, in 2014, only 37.7% of NI’s disabled people were in employment, compared to 75% of non-disabled people. Whatever chance there is of able-bodied people getting work, disabled people have even less chance and for many of them, even emigration isn’t an option.

People Before Profit wants to see:

  • Positive action to encourage employers to employ disabled workers.
  • Updated and strengthened legislation to tackle discrimination against disabled people in the workplace.
  • An end to the austerity regime imposed on disabled people via Universal Credit.
  • A substantial increase of disability benefits to cover the steep rise of the cost of living and the rising rates of inflation.
  • Reinstate the Independent Living Fund.
  • More robust legislation protecting disabled people from predatory private landlords taking advantage of the complex housing needs of disabled people and the lack of accessible housing.
  • More effective consultation with disabled people’s organisations on all matters concerning disability, as opposed to tokenism and empty promises.
  • Involving disabled people and their organisations in the drafting of all emergency responses to any future public health crisis to ensure a human rights compatible approach to distributing resources that affirms disabled people’s human rights.
  • Extend the full fare concessionary travel pass, Smart Pass, to all people who are unable to drive for medical reasons.