THE Donegal Disabled Persons Organisation (DPO) has said regional imbalance is to blame for the lack of accessible footpaths, roads, buildings, transport and internet connectivity in Donegal.

The group held two workshops on issues disabled people want the United Nations Committee for the Rights of Persons’ with Disabilities to ask the Irish state in September.

Pippa Black, Donegal Community Development worker for the Independent Living Movement of Ireland (ILMI) said: “Many accessibility issues were raised in our first workshop: we do not have train access to Sligo, Galway or Derry; we have buses and buildings that are not wheelchair accessible; our roads and footpaths are not safe for blind people or wheelchair users; and we have poor internet connections. Most of these barriers are a symptom of the extreme level of under-investment in the Northwest of Ireland.

“One workshop participant said ‘it is bad in the Northwest and doubly so in Donegal’. We did a little bit of research before making our submission. We found that in 2022 the Northwest of Ireland was downgraded by the EU from a ‘region in transition’ to a ‘lagging region’.

“We are ranked 170th out of 242 EU NUTS-2 regions (around the bottom 30 per cent) and Donegal is the worst performing of the Northwest Counties. The central Statistics Office (CSO) disposable income figures from 2023 showed Donegal was third from the bottom (above Laois and Longford).

“Ireland also has the biggest employment gap for disabled people in Europe, with only 38 per cent of disabled people in work. When we don’t have access to affordable transport, or basic public services, we find ourselves much worse off than our non-disabled neighbours and worse off than disabled people on the East Coast.

“A big issue in our second workshop was that many disabled people do not have access to email or WhatsApp. This makes it hard for us to connect with each other and organise, especially in a county as big as Donegal with poor access to public transport. Personal access to online spaces can be an important way to connect with others and to have our voices heard.”

The Donegal DPO encourages disabled people who live, work or play in Donegal to get in touch and join them by emailing DPO4Donegal@gmail.com or giving Pippa a call on 087 477 0965.