Ensuring Inclusive Local and EU Elections - DFI's Opening Statement to the Disability Matters Committee

The Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) presented at the Disability Matters Committee today, Tuesday 25 October 2023, in the Oireachtas on the topic of 'Ensuring Inclusive Local and EU Elections'. The local and European elections are scheduled to take place in June 2024. 

John Dolan, CEO of DFI and Joan Carthy, Advocacy Manager with the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) both delivered short opening statements to the Commitee which you can read below. John and Joan were Irish delegates to the Fifth European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities which took place in Brussels on 23 May last. 

John Dolan

DFI appreciates the invitation to present on this cornerstone commitment for the advancement of equal societal participation for disabled persons across the world.

I am joined this evening by Joan Carthy, who was a member of the DFI delegation that participated in the 5^th European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities, EPPD, last May. Joan is the National Advocacy Manager, with the Irish Wheelchair Association. Joan will also contribute to this Opening Statement.

The EPPD is a critical event and occasion, jointly organised by the European Disability Forum, EDF, and the European Parliament. On the 23 May the EPPD adopted the “EDF Manifesto on the European Elections 2024”. While 13 Irish delegates participated, they were selected from 59 applicants. All the applicants have committed to supporting DFI in promoting the EDF Manifesto in our campaign for the forthcoming EP elections. 

DFI also led a delegation to the previous disability parliament in December 2017, I had the honour of leading both delegations. Sadly, one member of that delegation, Gerry Ellis, passed away earlier this year. Gerry was a lifelong disability activist who made a strong contribution.

DFI has consistently been active at European and international levels, through our participation in the United Nations Conference of States Parties, UN COSP. We have participated in their annual meetings as well as through EDF which included their participation and membership of the International Disability Alliance, IDA. DFI has been Ireland’s National Council member of the European Disability Forum for many years.

It is relevant to mention that during the 2019 COSP we hosted a workshop entitled, “How to make Disability Votes Count” along with EDF and the European Economic and Social Council, EESC.

Article 29 of the UN CRPD, “Participation in political and public life” is the foundation and compass that energises and steers the work for us.

Your invitation also referenced “Union of Equality, Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2021 – 2030” along with noting that the EU is renewing its commitment to ensuring the equal participation of people with disabilities in the forthcoming European elections which it refers to as “this major political event.”

The EDF published its “Human Rights Report on Political Participation of Persons with Disabilities”, Issue 6 – 2022. It is a valuable and up to date outline of the issues. In Chapter 3 “The right to vote and stand for elections of persons with disabilities” has a contribution from Aoife Price, who was also one of our delegates to EDDP, on the situation of women with disabilities and political participation, page 45.

I will now make a number of observations.

There is increased visibility, participation, and improvements in public and political participation, along with increased voter participation by disabled people. This is not to presume that things are going well, or that they will come to a successful conclusion in the near future. In Ireland, we know that women were heavily involved in civil, activist, and political arenas from the start of the last century. Yet that hopeful trend was quickly subverted at political and societal levels. My point is that trends can be sidelined and subverted. This Committee has a key role to ensure that the momentum is increased. A range of departments, working together are necessary for that to happen.

Many people who are elected public representatives in Ireland, whether at local or national levels, started out through involvement in some local organisations or through campaigns of one kind or another. That often led people to realise that there is another critical element, namely the local authority, the Dail, the Seanad and the European Parliament. So having the opportunity for disabled people to participate easily and with appropriate supports, particularly at local community level, is critical.

The overall political system, including political parties and groups, must act at a few levels simultaneously.

The communities where disabled people live must be accessible and welcoming. The myriad of barriers need replacing with ease of access and relevant accommodations. Things like, having a disposable income, physical accessibility, information available in various formats, personal assistance, being able to participate in local activities and groups, and the list goes on.  

Political parties and groups also have a responsibility to make internal organisational changes. There are many areas that they have control over. Things like, actively reaching out to disabled people, where they hold their meetings, how information is formatted for instance. And the question of having a level playing field for electioneering and participation as a member of the Oireachtas or Local authority.

I will now ask Joan to make her contribution.

Joan Carthy

For anyone wanting to get involved in political life, there is a journey to take.

For people with disabilities, to get involved in life in general, there is a more arduous journey, one in which personal and societal barriers are faced on a daily basis. Over and over again, you will have heard the stories of these barriers to education, employment, access to transport, access to personal assistant services, negative attitudes and expectations. So for people with disabilities, living an independent life is a challenge, let alone getting involved in a political world from which we are alienated, ignored and dismissed.

Many people with disabilities feel that politics is not for them. At a basic level, we don’t even have adequate access to polling stations.  While Ireland ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2018, and all these obstacles are addressed as a right under 50 different articles they are still a reality in Ireland. So, the message is very strong to us, we don’t really have a place in politics.

We may have good advocates (allies) in government, but we need to fight to be on the agenda along with so many other issues.  We are not seen as strong advocates in our own right in places of power where decisions are made, we are only invited in to tell our stories.  We should be in places where decisions are made, we should be the decision makers.

I want to tell you my experience of being involved in a delegation that went to the 5^th European Parliament for People with Disabilities in May of this year. It was quite an experience both negative and positive.   While I am here to talk about being involved in politics as a disabled person and our experience of being involved in the European Parliament, it would be remis of me not to discuss the barriers that came with that and what was experienced by the group.  The impact of everyday challenges that act as a further barrier which distances us from the political corridors.

We had come together as the 13 Irish delegates to discuss and input into the draft EDF Manifesto that would be presented to the parliament for adoption. There was an air of excitement in the group, the opportunity to be involved in politics on a European level, but also an air of worry, worry about how we would travel as a group of disabled people and for some would we be able to arrange a personal assistant to travel with us. 

On our flight to Brussels there were major delays on assisting some of us on to the airplane and one person was told after boarding that her chair would not fit in to the cargo-hold; even though the dimensions had been given in advance and tickets had been issued.  The lady was asked did she really need her chair on the other end and if so, there was no other option but for her to disembark and be left behind.  To add insult to injury the captain made an announcement stating, “sorry for the delay in take-off but we are having some issues loading the wheelchair people”. There is a lot more to this story, but I just wanted to set the scene, which leads into some of the points in the manifesto that we were discussing and agreeing.

From the “EDF Manifesto on the European Elections 2024”, unanimously adopted at the EPPD, the first theme I will talk about is to guarantee the participation of persons with disabilities in the political and public life of the EU.

This theme comments strongly on the right to accessible information, including easy-to-read formats, Braille and sign languages. It also encompasses the right of disabled people to vote and to stand in elections in any Member State, regardless of legal capacity. It states that voting is a right of citizens and the process should be accessible to everyone. It includes awareness programmes amongst others. While all of this is agreed on, it will not change anything for many people with disabilities considering entering European politics if their services are not transferable. 

The transferring of services is included in the manifesto under Embracing Accessibility - allowing free movement in Europe. For people with disabilities to be involved in European politics this is important as it includes the adoption of an EU-wide Disability Card which ensures the mutual recognition of disability status across membership states which would include the necessary supports for people with disabilities during the transition period of moving to another country to study or take up employment.  Without this support a person with a disability who needs a personal assistant is excluded from European politics or any type of employment. This is a major issue even within Ireland as we cannot move from one country to another and transfer our care package.

During our time in Brussels, we had an opportunity to meet with many people with disabilities and discuss our experiences which is as important as meeting with MEP’s.  There was a lot of engagement with Irish MEP’s on the day of the Parliament where we got to discuss the themes included in the manifesto and explain what they really mean. The following day at a reception hosted in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU, we had further opportunity to discuss at length these themes and how these barriers affect our lives and our beliefs in becoming involved in politics, at home or abroad.

While all of this was really positive, it was heavily supported from a logistics front. Politics involves getting to various locations, meeting people, being in the right place at the right time, with the right message. For people with disabilities this is often hindered by the everyday issues, we are addressing in the manifesto, in the UN CRPD, in our advocacy every day which only adds to the challenges. 

To get it right in Europe we need to get it right at home first. We need our accessible polling stations, we need access to transport, education, employment, personal assistant services. We need people to understand that we are more than our disability and the stories we have to tell.

We are an untapped resource to add to the political discussion in general and should be valued for what we can bring to the table, any table. Yes, we need supports to have an equitable opportunity to take part in politics but once we have that we are and will be a force to be reckoned with in all areas.  

ENDS