Public consultation on the rights of people with disabilities with MEP Peter Agius

A public consultation on the EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities was held at Europe House in Valletta yesterday evening with MEP Peter Agius, shadow rapporteur for the opinions of the Petitions and Public Health Committees feeding into this strategy, and stakeholders.

“Persons with disabilities have an important contribution to give to our society. We need to adapt our methods to enable those contributions. The EU is presently discussing adapting its rules on rights of persons with disabilities. Today I have listened to those on the frontline of our mission to improve accessibility, to fight the stigma of disabilities and to secure real rights reaching everyone, especially the most vulnerable in our society. I will put forward these voices in the European Parliament,” MEP Peter Agius said. “We need to factor in the dimension of persons living with disability in all our policy areas”.

The public discussion - attended by stakeholders, civil society organisations, entrepreneurs and individuals with specific interests - covered a broad range of topics including discrimination, the need for training, for a shift in leadership roles, for awareness of hidden disabilities and debilitating diseases, transport issues, and also offered recommendations.

The CORE platform, representing the Malta Diversity and Inclusion Charter signed by over 70 enterprises, NGOs and public entities collectively employing over 30,000 people, 

noted that people living with disability may be fearful of the prospect of employment as they may not be trained to approach it. Employers equally need to be shown a path, as many employers do not know where to start CORE president Helga Ellul and executive Julian Dingli pointed out, recommending in incentivising management for training, and the inclusion of job coaches, a colleague whose role is to support a colleague living with disability. 

Difficulties for people with disability to access employment, were spotlighted, with recommendations for people on interviewing boards to be trained to assess the skills of people with disabilities competently, and calling for people with disability to not be judged to be less capable, or given jobs with lower levels of responsibility without proper assessment of their skills, as this leads to a loss of human dignity, and unfair obstacles in progressing in one’s career and salary.

A warning bell was sounded concerning a possible move towards the segregation of persons with disability, and about gaps in the education system for people living with intellectual disabilities resulting in them coming through the educational system without the skills needed for employment.

MEP Agius noted that lot of progress has been done in Malta, but more needs to be done.

The Dementia Association of Malta flagged that a lack of digitalisation of records impacts negatively the continuity of support to people with mental health issues. Noted also was the lack of social workers in leadership roles in mental health institutions, impacting negatively on the re-integration into normal life for people with mental health issues.

“Mental health is becoming the main issue for younger generations,” MEP Agius highlighted.

Transport accessibility and access to funding for mobility equipment were also raised.

Former MP Kevin Cutajar, focused on recommendations to improve the situation for blind people like himself calling for public transport equipped with an electronic audio system that works well announcing current and upcoming stops, enabling blind people to know where they are. He also called for a full digital mapping of Malta, enabling blind people to find their way correctly with the guidance of a mobile phone noting that “this is crucial, not only for blind people”.

An enterprise representative working on the modification of cars and driving aids in Malta flagged that clients are going through a difficult time to get support, raising points to be addressed by Malta and the EU including more support for the purchase or for loans to buy wheelchairs or other specialised equipment; misuse of available funds by certain sectors in public transportation; and the disparity of cost when booking a taxi accessible for a wheelchair user which is much more expensive than a taxi which is not, noting that this should not be the case as operators have access to funding for accessibility. Recommendations were made for the improvement of equality legislation, streamlining access to services including to insurance, collaborative public-private responsibility, and for reducing red tape.

In culture, a lack of accessibility in museums resulted in a survey conducted in a graduate thesis, that showed that many sites in Malta have issues, as do the websites of museums that are inaccessible to blind people. The content of museums can also be inaccessible, whereas technology can be used to provide a good experience for the blind including tactile experiences, Braille, and audio guides specifically for the blind. There is a lot of motivation to visit museums, but not enough facilitation, a St John’s Cathedral employee noted.

Research models for disability issues should have the input of people living with disabilities, participants noted, with emphasis on the “problem of things being done for us, without us”.

MEP Agius, in conclusion, pledged to push forward the points made as part of the work in the EP on the updating of the EU strategy for the rights of people with disabilities. He also highlighted existing funding opportunities, including the Social Climate Fund, and noted that the EU’s upcoming long-term budget will dedicate billions to AI and the digital revolution that could benefit people living with disabilities.

“Accessibility means having a path in front of one for the means to succeed,” he said.

The discussion was organised by the European Parliament Liaison Office in Malta and moderated by the Head of Office Dr Mario Sammut.

Background:

The EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 is the policy framework for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The strategy includes an ambitious set of actions and flagship initiatives linked to the UNCRPD. Despite significant efforts to implement the UNCRPD across the EU, persistent gaps remain between persons with and without disabilities, for example when it comes to poverty, access to jobs, inclusive education, housing, or healthcare services.

Legislatively so far under this strategy, the EU has adopted a directive establishing the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities.