In the video below listen to Robbie Sinnott from Voice of Vision Impairment answer questions as part of Dublin City Council’s Inclusion and Integration Week, 2021. We have also included the full transcript at the bottom of the page.
We are not born disabled.
Many of us have impairments,
And because of this, we are often disabled by society
We are being disabled by prejudice
We are being disabled by bad design
We are being disabled by bad planning
So, while diversity is cause for celebration,
Being disabled is not.
Make disability history.
Be aware.
Know your rights.
Join us in VVI
info@vvi.ie
Full transcript
Dublin City Inclusion and Integration Week – Questions and Answers series
Inclusion and Integration Week, 2021
Question 1: What does integration mean for you?
Robbie: Integration is about being equal in humanity. Being disabled is not an identity. Being disabled is something that is done to a person by society, by attitudes, by design. So we really need to do away with disability because it is being disabled that causes disability is a social construct.
Question 2: What does social inclusion mean to you?
Robbie: Social inclusion means the disappearing of the barriers and obstacles that stop me from living exactly the same life as my sighted counterparts. Social inclusion would be good design, good planning. And it would be listening to the needs of people with a visual impairment through their DPO or through their representative organisation.
Question 3: What is the most positive aspect of inclusion and integration within Dublin City?
Robbie: There’s a great acceptance among most ordinary people of diversity and that’s not necessarily shared by the systems and institutions who like to box tick. But it’s certainly there among ordinary people, which is fantastic.
Question 4: How can Dublin improve its inclusion and integration in Dublin City?
Robbie: By basically doing what it’s told to; what Ireland has ratified; what it’s signed up to under the convention and the rights of people with disabilities. And by prioritising disabled persons organisations, representative organisations in their planning. And basically planners are there to plan not just for people like themselves. They’re there to plan for everybody. And my need to access my city is a human right to safely access the streets outside and around my home. That is a human right and it’s as equal as anybody else’s.
Question 5: Would you agree Dublin welcomes diversity? Why?
Robbie: Well I think Dubliners welcome diversity and their brilliant at it. Dublin City Council doesn’t necessarily welcome diversity. It has its own idea of diversity in a wallpaper sense. Yeah, it likes it, you know. In terms of colour or taste. Possibly. But when it comes to hard tax, when it comes to the things on the ground, for instance, making things accessible to disabled people, like accessible and safe streets for disabled people. They are not remotely interested in hearing us whatsoever. They have their own idea and it’s far from disability proofed and it’s far from safe. It’s very disabling. The attitude is disabling and their plans are disabling.