Originally published here.
A well-known campaigner from Co Tyrone was one of the leading speakers at the first Disabled People’s Parliament in Stormont to highlight the need for new disability rights legislation on Friday.
Dermot Devlin, from Greencastle, was one of the principal speakers at the event hosted by the Assembly on Friday, and has said it is vital Northern Ireland adopts UN legislation to protect disabled people’s rights.
Friday was International Day for People with a Disability, with the event organised to highlight the need for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to be fully incorporated here.
“It’s crucial that disabled people’s rights are protected under the law, with regards to accessibility, education, health, transport and things like that,” Dermot told MyTyrone.
“I’m from Greencastle but I’m based in the Omagh area, and I’m on the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council disability advisory group.
“Within that along with five other people in the district I highlight what needs to be done with regards to their policies on things like capital funding.
“With this work quite often we are correcting mistakes with buildings that make it difficult for disabled people to access.
“If the UNCPRD is adopted, hopefully things will be tightened up so that disabled people’s rights and needs are taken into consideration right at the beginning.”
Dermot added facilities for disabled people are still not up to scratch, particularly in the West.
“To this day so many buildings are still completely inaccessible to me, whether that’s to do with access or not having the correct disabled toilet facilities," he said.
“Even public transport can be very troubling for me because not all buses, especially here in the West, would be accessible for disabled people.”
Dermot also highlighted the workplace rights as one area that the convention would help to protect.
He continued: “We need to have accessibility within workplaces, but also to make sure that disabled people are not discriminated against at the application stage.
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