People disabled in Troubles treated as an ‘embarrassing inconvenience’

People who were severely disabled as a result of Troubles-related injuries receive significantly lower levels of support than that provided for disabled people in Britain, Westminster politicians are being told this week.

Members of the Wave trauma centre injured group from Northern Ireland are in England over Wednesday and Thursday to lobby for support for such victims of the conflict and to press for a special pension for the severely injured.

Most of the severely injured, according to Wave, must live on benefits because they were unable to build up occupational pensions due to the severity of their injuries.

In terms of the needs of wheelchair users like me or amputees who use prosthetic limbs it is clear that the level of provision in Northern Ireland is lower than elsewhere in the UK

One of the group, Paul Gallagher who has been using a wheelchair since he was shot in 1994, said people like him "are treated as an embarrassing inconvenience because we have lived longer than expected".

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“It’s shocking that people whose lives are permanently and catastrophically damaged by the conflict still have to lobby and plead with the authorities at local and national level to give us just enough to allow us to lead lives as independently as possible for as long as possible,” he said.

“In terms of the needs of wheelchair users like me or amputees who use prosthetic limbs it is clear that the level of provision in Northern Ireland is lower than elsewhere in the UK and that is not good enough,” he added.

‘Better outcomes’

Mr Gallagher said, “The Secretary of State can talk about the government’s responsibilities to ‘provide better outcomes for victims and survivors, the people who suffered most during the Troubles’ but then in effect say that those responsibilities do not extend to men and women who lost eyes, arms and legs during the Troubles.”

The Wave injured group during its visit will examine how those with severe spinal injuries and those who have lost limbs are helped and supported in Britain compared to the support they receive in Northern Ireland.

The group is also visiting the Spinal Rehabilitation Unit in Stoke Mandeville Hospital as well as Limbcare and the Limbless Association.