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
TOWARDS GREATER CROSS BORDER CO-OPERATION
Greater cross border co-operation between people with disabilities is likely to be the outcome of a special cross border conference on the experiences of young people with disabilities in rural areas.
It took place at the Armagh City Hotel recently and was organised by PwDI, with the Monaghan Network taking a lead role. Guest speakers included Nuala O’Loan, Police Ombudsman, Northern Ireland and Emily Logan, Republic of Ireland Ombudsman for Children. Laura Fagan from Armagh outlined her experiences as a young person with a disability and particularly her work as an advocate with the Disabled Children and Young Person’s Participation Project with Barnardos in Armagh City. Niamh Hyland, from Leitrim, highlighted the experiences of her family regarding the issues of education, employment and socialisation arising with her younger brother, Jason, who was born with Down syndrome.
Michael Ringrose, PwDI CEO, said it was heartening to see young people and their families coming together on a cross
border basis for the first time.
“Today marked a real opportunity for young people and their families to have their say and they used it,” he said.
“We heard directly what issues are of most concern and the kind of changes they would like to see in services and in policy, particularly in the areas of education, employment, access and sport and leisure.
“The conference presented an opportunity to explore how best people with disabilities and their families on both sides of the border can co-operate in their mutual interest.”
Mr Ringrose said that people with disabilities on both sides of the border have much in common.
“They do not have equal access to transport, education, jobs and services that other members of society regard as the norm.
“Through working together we believe that we can bring about the required changes quicker through strength of numbers,” he said.
“At the same time we are not forgetting too that there is a huge comfort in simply making friendships and sharing information and ideas with those in similar situations.”
A full report on the special conference is available on: www. pwdi.ie
Next Article >> | List of Articles | Back To News Page