This article is from page 13 of the 2012-12-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
PEOPLE living with disabilities in Clare have suffered more than other sectors and “have nothing left to give” in this week’s budget. That is according to local organiser for Enable Ireland, Margaret Burke, who believes that cuts to local authority budgets has made it very difficult for people using wheelchairs to get around Ennis and other towns in the county.
Ms Burke was speaking after an event in Ennis last week which saw a number of politicians taking to wheelchairs to experience, firsthand, the difficulties experienced by disabled people every day.
“They really want the people who represent them to know exactly what they are talking about. If someone hasn’t been in a wheelchair, it is not always that easy to represent them and to understand exactly where they are coming from,” she said.
“The biggest thing is that this event was organised by the service-users themselves. They are used to people being vocal for them, on their behalf, but this an event organised by the service-users themselves. That is a big step.
“It is empowering for them – it gives them more of a voice. It is beginning to unfold like that more and more in Clare. Our role is more and more to sit back and support them, and let them speak for themselves.”
According to Ms Burke, there is a lot of fear among disabled people in Clare ahead of this week’s budget.
“When you cut local budgets, it has a massive effect on people with disabilities. If Clare County Coun- cil don’t have the funding to fix the paths and fix the roads, then people in wheelchairs struggle every day. It is an massive obstacle to get into town [Ennis] every day. They need their busses, they need their transport,” she said.
“These people are on a disability allowance – they really don’t have much. They have everything to lose and nothing left to give. Everyone is hoping that there won’t be any further cuts. We have always been in a recession down in this part of the world.”