The European Commission has adopted new measures to combat discrimination against disabled people in the workplace which will enable them to go to court to protect their rights.
The measures were adopted in support of the non-discrimination clause in Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty, according to the principal administrator of the Commission's Unit for the Integration of People with Disabilities, Mr Roderick Skinner.
"The new thing about this package is that the victim of discrimination will have the possibility of going to court, which may judge that he or she is right and take sanctions," he told the Irish National Information Day on Disability conference in Dublin yesterday.
The package includes two proposed directives. The first will prohibit discrimination in employment on grounds of disability, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. The second extends the prohibition of discrimination on racial or ethnic grounds to education, the provision of goods and services and social protection.
"These proposals will ensure that a real difference is made to people's lives by providing victims with a clear remedy against discrimination," Mr Skinner said.
Disabled people were recognised as one of the most discriminated against sections of society, facing barriers to full access to all aspects of social life, Mr Skinner said. "Those barriers can include the lack of affordable transport, limited education and training opportunities, lack of support and other disincentives in the social and economic fields." In Ireland, the Employment Equality Act, 1998, the National Disability Authority Act, 1999, and the Equal Status Bill, 1999, provided a solid basis on which a more inclusive future for all citizens could be built, the assistant secretary of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ms Sylda Langford, said.
This legislation would ensure that everyone had the opportunity to create a life and career of their choosing, she said, delivering a script for the Minister of State, Ms Mary Wallace.
People with disabilities now represented a formidable economic bloc and it made good commercial sense for businesses to ensure their premises were disability-friendly, she said. In the light of the current labour shortage, it was would be a very foolish employer who ignored the potential and valuable asset which workers with disabilities represented, she added.
Delegates were also briefed on the roles and aims of two new organisations which will come into operation soon.
The disability support service, Comhairle, is to begin operating on March 1st. The National Disability Authority, which will be responsible for developing standards and codes of practice in programmes and services for people with disabilities, will begin operating soon.