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Minority Groups
How are people disabled?
People are classified as disabled if they have a Physical or sensory
disability, or other difficulty like a learning difficulty or a mental
health difficulty.
It is difficult to say how many people are disabled but estimates range
from 10-17% of the population. People can either be born disabled
or can acquire a disability throughout their lives.
Some Disability Organisations:
The Irish Wheelchair Association
The Irish Wheelchair Association is the national organisation dedicated
to the achievement of full social, economic and educational integration
of people with disabilities as equal, independent and participative members
within the general community.
The IWA aspires to be the leading organisation in Ireland of and for
people with physical disability, giving voice to the demands of all members
and taking action at local, national and international levels in order
to achieve these objectives.
Services the IWA provide.
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Information - The IWA provides information on a broad range of topics.
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Spokeout - The quarterly magazine of the IWA.
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Cuisle - The IWA's holiday and respite centre.
Leaflets are available for every service, which
the Irish Wheelchair Association provides.
Further Information from:
Irish Wheelchair Association
Aras Cuchulainn,
Blackheath Drive,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3,
Ireland.
Telephone: 353-1-8338241
Fax: 353-1-8333873
e-mail: iwa@iol.ie
>
Disability Federation of Ireland
What Is It?
DFI is a national umbrella organisation for voluntary / non-statutory
agencies that provide support services to people with disabilities and
disabling conditions.
DFI currently has over 70 full member organisations and an association
with up to 200 other organisations throughout its 8 regional networks in
Ireland.
The role of DFI is to provide a range of supports and services to voluntary
organisations that will enable them to deliver the best possible range
of services to people with disabilities.
Underpinning the activities of each member organisation is the right
of people with disabilities to full and equal citizenship.
How Does DFI Work?
Each member organisation, irrespective of size, is entitled to nominate
two representatives to the General Council of DFI. It is from within the
Council that the twelve member Board of Directors is elected. A Chief Executive,
who in turn reports to the DFI Board elected, heads the seven staff members
by the DFI membership.
Further Information from:
2 Sandyford Office Park,
Dublin 18.
Tel: 01- 2959344/5
Fax: 01- 2959346
Email: dfi@iol.ie
Centre for Independent Living:
INDEPENDENT living as a concept first came to light in California during
the late sixties. When a young man called Ed Roberts went to Berkeley College.
Because of his disability Ed initially lived in the college hospital and
had to live his life around the rules and routine of it. As a result his
social and community life was very restricted and in order to remedy this and other issues he and some
other disabled students set up the first Centre For Independent Living.
INDEPENDENT Living is more a philosophy than a movement. It is based
on a few simple principles, which seem self-evident when stated:
Principles of Independent Living The only true experts on disability
are the disabled themselves. All people, regardless of disability,
have the right to choose how they wish to live, so long as such choice
does not harm others. If any person is receiving services from the state
or others, they must have input as to how and by whom such service is delivered.
As citizens of the state, the disabled must be given the same rights and
the same opportunities as others and must also take on the same responsibilities
as non-disabled citizens. In short "Nothing about us without us."
While these things may seem obvious their application is the exception
rather than the rule. Centres for independent living were established to
empower the disabled thus enabling them to ensure that the above become
the norm.
CIL in Mayo
DISABILITY was until very recently viewed as a charity issue in Ireland.
This was a major bone of contention among the disabled themselves and it
was in 1991 the first CIL opened in Ireland. It was based in Dublin and
was started for much the same reasons as the first one in California. Namely
that some people with disabilities wanted control over their own lives
and greater involvement in the design and delivery of services intended
for them.
CIL is an organisation run by and for people with disabilities and this
ethos is continued to the greatest extent possible as new Cilia's' are
opened around the country. There are currently 16 county Cilia's with more
planned for the future.
CIL Mayo started in March 1995. They are the second outside Dublin
and the first truly rural CIL. In the first year 18 people were employed
as Personal Assistants throughout Co. Mayo. They address the issues as
they apply in a rural area and as the members give them. Many of these
problems are common to all people with
disabilities while some, like isolation from neighbours, are peculiar
to the country.
Further Information from:
Irish Wheelchair Association
Aras Cuchulainn,
Blackheath Drive,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3,
Ireland.
Telephone: 353-1-8338241
Fax: 353-1-8333873
e-mail: iwa@iol.ie
 
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