Light-disabled people need ‘lifeline routes’ says Irish Parliament

Last week LightAware attended the Irish Parliament for the launch of a report from the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. The report focuses on aligning services in Ireland with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is an optional protocol, which the Committee was urgently calling on the Irish Government to ratify.

This is a big step forward for light-disabled people in Ireland for their needs to be recognised within the report:

“The Committee heard the lived experience of the disabling effects of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting on individuals with light sensitivity and its significant impact on health as well as access to the community.”

The Committee states that it agrees with LightAware that employers and service providers should make reasonable adjustments to allow access to employment and essential services and for the need for ‘lifeline routes free from LEDs’.

However, many Senators spoke of their frustration and despair at the current ‘acute failure’ of services. There was talk of a need for a ‘seismic shift’ in attitude. Independent Senator Tom Clonan spoke of ‘casual and ongoing, cruel and idiosyncratic obstacles placed in people’s paths’ and called for a fundamental human rights approach to disability services.

LightAware is calling on light-disabled people in Ireland to contact their political representatives and draw their attention to the report, and the need to ratify the UN protocol.

Irish Parliament Joint Committee on Disability Matters February 2023

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