Mayo woman brings disability campaign to Oireachtas
Avril Greham addressed the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters.
A Mayo woman recently took part in a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters, discussing access to work for disabled people.
Avril Greham, a disability advocate and public speaker from Ballina, spoke in Leinster House on behalf of the Mayo Disabled Persons’ Organisation (Mayo DPO), a cross-impairment and peer-led group run by and for disabled people.
Ms Greham highlighted key points on employment and the barriers disabled people in Mayo currently face, including financial barriers, a lack of reasonable accommodation, attitudinal, internalised and environmental barriers as well as information gaps.
She said many disabled people face “an impossible choice” between security and opportunity.
“Even when we secure work, the ongoing cost and lack of accessible travel can make it impossible to stay in employment.
“We also fear losing essential supports such as Disability Allowance, the medical card, or other benefits that we rely on to live.”
Ms Greham said that the Covid-19 pandemic proved that flexibility works in terms of hybrid working arrangements and that the same flexibility must become the standard, rather than the exception. She called for employers to invest in Disability Equality Training to help build awareness and confidence in inclusion.
Ms Greham said it is vital for disabled people to see their peers succeed in order to change the expectations they have for themselves. She added that many workplaces still remain physically inaccessible, which excludes fully qualified disabled people before their work even begins. In terms of information gaps, she said better information on both sides, between employer and employee, would make employment inclusion possible.
Ms Greham spoke about what the Mayo DPO feel needs to change, which includes making work pay and protecting essential supports, investing in accessible transport, building confidence and opportunity and creating a Mayo Employment Forum, which would provide an honest space to discuss barriers, share solutions, and taking collective action for change.
“I’m so proud to share the lived experiences of disabled people in Mayo and highlight the real barriers that continue to limit access to meaningful employment,” Ms Greham told the .
