Disability

A disability discrimination case brought against a Belfast primary school with support from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has been settled without admission of liability. The parents of Violet Heasley, who lives with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), brought a case again

Plans for a Northern Ireland disability strategy and a Disability Forum aimed at improving the lives of persons with disabilities have not been able to move forward because of the lack of a Northern Ireland Executive. The lack of progress in a wide range of areas has been highlighted in a joint subm

A deaf woman who was told she would have to pay for her own interpreter to take part in a Griffith College course designed to prepare students for the King's Inns entrance exams has been awarded €3,000 by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). Sofiya Kalinova was represented by the Irish Hum

The High Court has held that a Disability Appeals Officer has the power to direct the delivery of services to disabled children earlier than the waiting times contained in a service statement. It was held that a parent was entitled to make a complaint about the length of time it would take to provid

A right to independent living should be incorporated into Irish law in order to ensure that disabled people can live "ordinary lives in ordinary places", an Oireachtas committee has recommended. A new report from the Oireachtas joint committee on disability matters issues a number of recommendations

The HSE is applying the Disability Act 2005 in a way that undermines rather than upholds disability rights in Ireland, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has told the Court of Appeal. Appearing as amicus curiae in the case of OB, the watchdog said the manner in which the HSE carries out

The denial of domiciliary care allowance (DCA) to the parents of a severely disabled child, who needs continual care, because of the time the child has spent in hospital is discriminatory, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has said. The rights watchdog is appearing as amicus curiae in a

An Oireachtas committee has launched a call for submissions on proposed legislation to abolish the wards of court system for adults. The joint committee on children, equality, disability, integration and youth is seeking views on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2021, which w

The Law Society of Ireland has called on the State to "realise its international obligations to Irish people with disabilities" to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities today. Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in March 2018, some 11 ye

Ireland's controversial wardship system will be ended by June 2022 under plans set out by ministers today. The government has announced that the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 will be amended before being commenced in full by June 2022.

Disabled voters can lawfully be required to enter polling places through a back entrance, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled. In a "disappointing" ruling yesterday, the court said polling places and election procedures in Europe need to be accessible for disabled people, but access

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has withdrawn its appeal of a significant High Court judgment which found that the service must provide reasonable accommodation to disabled prison officers. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission provided legal representation to Robert Cunningham in taking the

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission will give evidence to the Supreme Court in a case with implications for the application of the equality guarantee in social welfare matters. The case concerns a father who was deemed ineligible for domiciliary care allowance while his severely disabled

The PSNI has launched a review of its procedures for recruiting disabled people after settling a disability discrimination case brought by a man with autism, ADHD and Tourette's syndrome. The man had unsuccessfully applied for an administrative post with the PSNI via a recruitment campaign conducted

Barry Walsh, head of Fieldfisher Ireland's employment department, comments on a recent case involving disability discrimination. Employers are often asked by employees to provide references for future would-be employers or for internal promotion competitions. Many employers are reluctant to do so an