People with disabilities are much more likely to be living in poverty, have lower educational qualifications and live a less active social life compared to the general population, new research shows.
A study published by the ESRI, Disability and Social Inclusion in Ireland, shows the full extent of barriers to full participation in society for disabled people.
In education, people with disabilities aged 25 to 34 are four times less likely to have a qualification beyond primary level and are half as likely to reach third level as their peers. People with disabilities are also more than twice as likely to be at risk of poverty. Figures show the economic boom of the last decade did not benefit the disabled community.
For example, between 1994 and 2001 the proportion of disabled adults at risk of poverty rose sharply from 21 per cent to 38 per cent. The corresponding figure for the general population remained steady at 17 per cent.
Only a minority of people with disabilities are in work. However, those who are employed are associated with significantly lower hourly earnings than the general population.
People with disabilities, especially those severely restricted by their disability, experience a less active social life.
Less than half of those severely hampered by a disability had an evening out in the last fortnight, compared to 85 per cent of people without a disability.
Disabled people are also less likely to be in a club or associations, to meet friends or relatives or have a social afternoon out.
The study, by Brenda Gannon and Brian Nolan of the ESRI, was conducted for the National Disability Authority (NDA) and Equality Authority.
The director of the NDA, Claire O'Connor, said the research established that people with disabilities were excluded across many areas of life.
"Our society and our public policies must rise to the challenge of genuinely including people with disabilities in the mainstream of Irish life and must address the barriers to full social participation," she said.
The Equality Authority's chief executive, Niall Crowley, said the degree to which people with disabilities were found to be hampered in their daily lives reflected the "disabling" nature of society and institutions.
While the Employment Equality Act sought to require employers to take measures to enable a person with disabilities to access employment, the volume of disability-related cases that came before the authority - more than 16 per cent of all cases - reflected a resistance to change, he said.
Minister for Social and Family Affairs Séamus Brennan said his department was committed to harnessing a range of supports to encourage and assist people with disabilities to identify and take up employment. This was being done through a wide range of back-to-work schemes and benefits for employers who employed disabled people.