Our vision is of ...equal opportunities for people with disabilities

21% of adults and 6% of children in Northern Ireland have a disability. The living costs of a person with a disability are 25% higher than those without, and 50% of people with a disability have some difficulty in using a range of services. In the current climate of welfare reform and the review of Disability Living Allowance, disabled people have genuine fears regarding their standard of living and financial security. When it comes to housing, people with disabilities experience long waiting lists in order to be allocated suitable accommodation.

Disabled people have the right to be supported in their own homes, yet for those who need to make adaptations the process can take years to complete. In addition, essential home care packages are under threat. Respite provision is a crucial element of ensuring disabled people receive the support they need to live independently, yet provision is patchy across NI and there is a growing fear that provision of respite care is under threat.

Despite legislation being in place on access to goods and services, many disabled people still face barriers to access to information, goods, and services from all kinds of organisations and bodies including doctors surgeries, dentists, places of worship, shops, banks, restaurants, and voluntary and community groups. The barriers to inclusion faced by disabled people also reach into the political realm. Our electoral process does not cater well for the needs of disabled people and disabled people are less likely to stand for or participate in elections.

In order to realise our vision of a Northern Ireland where people with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities to play a full and active role in society, politicians and political parties should:

• Review the points system for housing to better reflect the needs of disabled people. Set targets for reducing the waiting list for housing adaptation and take steps to ensure the process is shortened and less bureaucratic.
• Support benefit uptake campaigns and ensure disabled people are fully consulted on all aspects of welfare reform. The system for direct payments should be simplified.
• Guarantee access to high quality care packages for people with disabilities no matter where they live. Ensure age and disability appropriate respite care provision is made available on a consistent basis across Northern Ireland.
• Improve access so that people with disabilities can make use of all areas of public and social life. Information should be provided in an accessible and understandable format.
• Support changes to the electoral and political processes that will allow people with disabilities to participate fully. These include, photographs of all candidates on ballot papers, full physical and communication access for polling stations, and ensuring all communications from political parties are accessible for people with disabilities. Each party should have a disability champion and a specified disability spokesperson.