So, it’s happened, as many predicted it would – a general election has been called for the 8^thFebruary, 2020. What an underhanded move, don’t you think? To call an election due to take place within three weeks? The short timeframe leaves us all scrambling to make our cases, to highlight pressing issues to election candidates in the hope that somehow, our electorates will improve our quality of life.

However, there is something that’s been bothering me, something that I need to clarify once and for all with you, dear reader. You may have noticed, that as a writer, I am in danger of pigeon-holing myself; after all, the name of this blog is “wobbly yummy mummy”. The keywords I use most, according to the word map located to the right of this blog are “disability”, “independent living” and “equality”. When I established this blog six years ago, I intended it to become a platform for a diverse range of subjects, not just disability activism. Yet, I don’t think of it as time wasted, nor do I worry whether it will impact on my future writing career. I’m proud of this blog, and what it represents. Above all, my writing serves as a reminder to all who read it that –

Disability Rights Are Human Rights

This reminder comes as the nation ramps up to challenge those who think they hold the solution to the many problems facing people in this country right now. Often, when organisations purporting to represent the needs of disabled people deliver their manifestoes to the vote-seeking candidates, they are told by the election hopefuls that they understand the importance of services for disabled people, that they want to protect those who are “vulnerable” within our society. That said, few candidates understand that it’s not our impairments that make us vulnerable, but rather the lack of access, services and respect that we as disabled people face on a daily basis.

The reality is that disabled people’s lives are affected in deeper ways by the government’s unwillingness to treat us as equals. It has been recently reported that Ireland is the worst country in Europe to have an impairment or disability, and this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. One of the biggest challenges is that disabled people are still treated as “patients”, people who, in the words of prominent activist, the late Martin Naughton “are to be cared for rather than cared about.” We have to ask ourselves whether things can ever drastically improve for disabled people in Ireland as long as the HSE is the principal funder of disability services. Does this mean that disability will always be seen as a medical issue rather than a form of social oppression, like racism? Which, of course, is exactly what it is.

Progress

It would be amiss of me to imply that there have been no glimmers of hope in the last three years. On 7 March, 2018, Ireland finally ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. On November 19, 2019, a motion was brought to the Seanad by Donegal TD Thomas Pringle in collaboration with NUI Galway and Independent Living Movement Ireland (ILMI) to legislate for a Personal Assistant Service. This has been a monumental step not only towards securing a service for disabled people often described as “my arms and my legs” but bringing about a change in the overall narrative of disability. It was the first time in a long time that I observed the language that was used being focused on a rights-based approach rather than the usual “vulnerable” narrative. And although the safety of the future of personal assistant services is still not guaranteed, I feel optimistic about the future of disabled people right now.

But – and there’s always a but – we cannot and should not rely on elected representatives to speak on our behalf. Historically, disabled people have had to suffer the humiliation of not having their voices heard. This starts on a seemingly innocuous level, in our everyday lives, when our family members or personal assistants are spoken to instead of us being spoken to directly. This is referred to as the “does he take sugar” syndrome, and evolves into a warped reality where the views of disabled people are only taken seriously when they are endorsed by a “disability organisation”. I know that my little blog does not have the reach that I would like it to have, and while I would never claim to be the expert on disability issues, I know how exclusion, lack of access and discrimination, both direct and indirect, impacts on my everyday life.

My point is – we need to trust ourselves. We need to truly believe that we as disabled people, and we alone, know what’s best for us. If we don’t believe this – and it’s shocking how many disabled people doubt themselves because of internalised oppression – then the big decisions will be made for us. Where we live, who assists us, our dreams and the nitty-gritty of our own lives will never be in our hands.

So to reiterate: The issues facing the population as a whole also face disabled people.

 For example, disabled people are aversely affected by the housing crisis. Many adult disabled people, just like non-disabled people, are still stuck living at home with their parents. Others are living in hospitals or nursing homes for the elderly because there is no accessible housing available or because they don’t have access to Personal Assistant Services. There are no figures available to show how many of the 10,000 people who are currently homeless are disabled people, but logically people with a varied range of impairments would be logistically unable to access certain hostels and emergency accommodation.

The rising costs of living means that disabled people in Ireland (like many others) are forced to eat nutritionally deficient food such as breakfast cereal, pasta or packaged soup, because they must save money for heating and other bills, or because they lack the assistance needed to prepare a more substantial meal. And the free travel pass, which was intended to reduce isolation among disabled people from their communities, is useless when buses are inaccessible and both urban and rural train stations are unmanned.

Should I have the chance to meet any of the election hopefuls face-to-face, I shall be reminding them that disabled people are demanding their human rights, that the government urgently needs to invest in all of our lives, that we should have access to the same services and opportunities as the “non-disabled” population and, above all, that we have been very patient. We have watched the deterioration of vital services and yet the outcry has been barely audible. We have tolerated cutbacks, the denial of basic rights, the compartmentalisation of our needs into “special needs” for far too long.

We refuse to do it any longer.

We refuse to be spoken for any longer.

Henceforth, we will be collectively using our voices and demanding our human rights.