People with Disabilities in Ireland
4th Floor Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
Telephone: 01 87 21 74 4
Fax: 01 87 21 77 1
Email: info@pwdi.ie
To mark International Disability Day, designated by the UN, the theme for this year is accessibility to information technologies, referred to as E-Accessibility Day. PwDI and FAS are hosting a joint initiative throughout the country to create and promote awareness with employers and people with disabilities about the grants, training and other initiatives that would encourage all concerned to engage in providing and entering full time mainstream employment.
More information on Lunch meetings.The Seminar will discuss precisely, what are the issues that should be prioritised by PwDI in the campaign for the General Election. The outcome of the seminars will be distributed to every Network in the Country.
• Getting your name on the register
• Voting procedures
• How to maximise the Network’s impact on all politicians in the run up to the election
• How to maximise the publicity potential of your campaign
• Role of the Presiding Officer
• Role of the Polling Clerk
• Putting pressure on, for better Accessibility to polling stations
• Relevance of communicating with the relevant politicians and parties, and maintaining your independence on behalf of all people with disabilities
• The Voting Paper.
These subjects will be covered in the two morning sessions and will be followed by workshops where you will have the opportunity to have your views heard. The workshops will look at four areas:
• Education
• Employment
• Assess/Transport
• Health
You will have the opportunity to decide which workshop you feel you would like to contribute to most and your views will then be part of an overall national document which each member who attends will receive. This document will help you to ask the questions of the politicians when they come knocking on your door in the near future looking for your support.
Dolmen Hotel
Kilkenny Road, Carlow
Tuesday 3rd April
Carlow
kilkenny
Wexford
Waterford
Kildare
Wicklow
Great Southern Hotel, Dublin Airport
Thursday 1st Feb
Dublin
Monaghan
Cavan
Louth
Meath
MacWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris, Co Mayo
Tuesday 6th Feb
Mayo
Donegal
Sligo
Leitrim
Galway
Roscommon
Tullamore Court Hotel, Tullamore, Co Offaly
Thursday 8th Feb
Offaly
Westmeath
Longford
Laois
Radisson, Limerick
Tuesday 13th Feb
Tipperary
Limerick
Clare
Cork
Kerry
International Disability day is once again being celebrated by PwDI through a series of luncheon conferences around the country. The theme of this years conferences is “PwDI and the HSE: a New Relationship” with a view to establishing effective and constructive processes between our two organisations.
The Managers of the HSE in each county has been invited to speak on their proposed strategy for the future. We perceive this as a significant opportunity for people with disabilities to have their voices heard by the HSE and also offer the HSE a platform to address the service users on whose
More information on Lunch meetings.Ten years after the unanimous adoption of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with Disabilities, the United Nations is undertaking a Global Survey to measure the progress that has been made by Governments in implementing the rules. The Global Survey presents a real opportunity for people with disabilities to inform the UN on the extent to which the Rules are being implemented in Ireland and so on the 22nd March, 2005 PwDI is bringing together a number of disability organisations and people with disabilities to prepare a response to the Global Survey.
The Seminar takes place in the Hilton Hotel in Dublin and will be opened by PwDI CEO Michael Ringrose and Chair Nigel Brander. Dr. Arthur O’Reilly, former Director of the NDA, will give the Keynote Address. Workshops will be set up to examine the questions in detail and a plenary session will be held in the afternoon to enable participants to present the responses prepared in the workshops and raise other issues relevant to the Survey.
For more information on the Global Survey Seminar contact PwDI National Office on 01-8721744.
Speeches from the UN Global Survey ConferenceTo mark this special day, December 3rd, PwDI is hosting a countrywide series of special lunches, focused on the issue of the Barcelona Declaration, for which Local Authorities hold responsibility.
Local Authorities will have the opportunity of informing PwDI, and other key stakeholders in the disability community, of their plans in relation to the implementation of the various elements of the Barcelona Declaration.
It is our intention that this initiative will help strengthen and develop closer co-operation and collaboration between Local Authorities and PwDI. We will be seeking to agree a protocol whereby Local Authorities consult on a formal basis with PwDI, perhaps once a year.
This International Day of Disabled Persons special initiative also provides an opportunity to engage the local media. So, let us all work together to make sure it becomes a big success and builds on the excellent work being carried out by our members, locally and nationally.
More information on December 3rd Lunch meetings.To mark the European Disability Day, PwDI networks around the country are organising lunch meeting for local employers. These meetings hope to enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilites and inform employers about supports available to them.
More information on December 3rd Lunch meetings.
WorkWay is an initiative to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. It is jointly run by Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC). PwDI plays a central role in the project: it is on the National Steering Committee and will help to co-ordinate five Regional Networks.