Seminar on ‘Political Representation and Activism for People with Disabilities’

Posted on: 21 May 2018

Disability activists, political leaders and international academics gathered to discuss the barriers to political representation and activism for people with disabilities in Ireland at a special seminar on Friday, 18th May. They were joined on the day by Minister for State and Disability Finian McGrath TD; MEP Marian Harkin and keynote speaker Professor Mark Priestley, University of Leeds.

Currently Irish people living with disabilities have restricted access to social participation in society especially when it comes to political representation. This landmark event called for a change to this.  The seminar, organised by Trinity College Dublin’s School of Education and supported by the Trinity College Dublin Equality Fund, took place in conjunction with University College Dublin Students’ Union.

Speaking ahead of the event Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath TD said: “When I was appointed as Minister, my immediate and continuing focus was, and is, on the person with the disability.  Exclusion of any person with a disability is wrong and is something that I have and will always campaign against. We must do all we can to address this challenge and that is why I am delighted to be speaking at this seminar to see how we can bridge the gap in politics and allow people with disabilities achieve their full potential.”

The recently ratified UNCRPD, Article 29, obliges state political parties to ensure equal rights for people with disabilities to participate in public and political life.  This event will outline the barriers and solutions to participation. Within the Oireachtas the numbers of TDs with a disability is currently not recorded. This is in contrast to the UK, where recent research has shown that 1% of MPs have a disability.

The event was organised by PhD researcher and disability advocate in the Trinity School of Education Vivian Rath. Commenting on the event Mr Rath said: “As a person with a disability and former UCD Students’ Union Vice President I hope this event will motivate Government and political parties to start thinking about how they can make a change. Around 13% of the Irish population have a disability, that is one in five of the population. That means we need 22 TDs with a disability in the Dáil for it to be truly representative.”

 “This seminar is an opportunity for those interested in engaging in political representation and community leadership to voice their experiences of the barriers to their participation and to identify a solution to the problem. We need a more inclusive and diverse political body representing the people of Ireland.”

Professor Priestley from the University of Leeds presented research on the lessons learned from cross-national assessment of disabled people’s electoral and political participation in the 28 Member States of the European Union at the time of the last European elections, and in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Commenting on the research and the political participation of people with disabilities in Ireland, Professor Priestley noted: “There has been a growing awareness of disability rights in European countries, most recently in Ireland’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This includes a commitment to political participation rights, but urgent action is needed by government, by the political parties and by election authorities to make this a reality.”

The event also heard of the experiences of current and former political representatives and leaders with disabilities including Senator Martin Conway, playwright and political activist Rosaleen McDonagh and former TD and Junior Minister for Agriculture Sean Connick.

Michael Shevlin Professor in inclusive Education at Trinity commented: “The School of Education in its teaching and research has a commitment to supporting the participation of traditionally marginalised people in education and society. This seminar is an opportunity examine how people with disabilities can influence policy and political decision making particularly in those areas that affect their lives.”