The National Disability Authority is the independent state body providing expert advice on disability policy and practice to the Minister, and promoting Universal Design in Ireland. Find out more about the NDA...
Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is about the opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in public and political life on an equal basis with others. The National Disability Authority and European Parliament Information Office in Ireland are jointly hosting a conference on this topic on the morning of Friday 24th May 2013. This is an associated event of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The National Disability Authority is undertaking research to identify the best model to use for assessing needs and allocating resources for disability services, and particularly the best way to determine an appropriate level of individualised budgets. The report on Phase 1 of this research is now available.
The NDA Research Promotion Scheme 2013 is now closed for applications. The focus of research topics for this year is ‘Community supports to enable people with acquired or progressive disabilities live independently’. Closing date for receipt of applications was 12 noon on Thursday, 4th April 2013.
The new strategic plan details how the National Disability Authority will work to guide national policy and design, to improve lives of people with disabilities and support greater independence.
The National Disability Authority's report on employment of people with disabilities in the public service in 2011 shows that the 3% jobs target has been achieved across the public sector for the first time since it was set in 1977.
This report explores contemporary national and international practices and thinking on Shared Spaces, Shared Surfaces and Home Zones and to investigate these concepts from a Universal Design approach in the Irish urban environment.
This report sets out key evidence based findings and provides key recommendations in relation to the implementation of Shared Spaces, Shared Surfaces and Home Zones in Ireland.
This Report captures the views and experiences of the participants in Your Voice Your Choice and will help inform the development of the National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan.
The National Disability Authority hosts two searchable database of Irish disability-related research, which are a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers and practitioners. The NDA wishes to add new records to the completed reseach database covering the period from January 2006 to present. If you or a member of your organisation has published disability research during this timeframe that you believe should be included in the database, please submit details of the research using this online Research Database submission form.
NDA also hosts a Research in Progress Database. If you or a member of your organisation is currently conducting disability research that you believe should be included in this database, please submit details of the research using this online Research in Progress submission form.
The National Disability Authority has published their Annual Report 2011. D’fhoilsigh an tÚdarás Náisiúnta Míchumais an Tuarascáil Bhliantúil 2011.
The National Disability Authority’s “Procurement and Accessibility” guidance document aims to guide public bodies on how they can build accessibility into their procurement policies, procedures and practice and increase awareness of the legal requirement under the Disability Act 2005 for public bodies to ensure that services or goods supplied to them are accessible to people with disabilities.
This study examined the approaches to the provision of Assistive Technology in Ireland and a number of other jurisdictions. The field of Assistive Technology (AT) concerns the practical tools that can support the functional needs of people who experience difficulties linked to disability or ageing. These technologies play a crucial role in enabling independent living and access to education and employment.
Our conference “Making public services accessible and employing people with disabilities” took place on Wednesday, 27th June, in the Camden Court Hotel in Dublin. The morning session focused on accessible public services, and the afternoon session on employment of people with disabilities in the public sector.
The National Disability Authority jointly hosted a conference on Access to Historic Buildings and Places on 30th May 2012. The presentations and videos from this conference are now available.
The National Disability Authority’s Accessibility Toolkit for public sector staff explains how to make public services, buildings, information, and websites more accessible to customers with disabilities. It also has advice about providing disability equality training to staff, consulting customers with disabilities, considering accessibility when procuring, and appointing Access Officers and Access Teams.
People with disabilities are more likely to be victims of crime than other citizens, however crime against people with disabilities is often not reported or does not proceed to prosecution. The National Disability Authority in 2011 funded research to explore the barriers to reporting and prosecuting such crime in Ireland, and at what happens in other jurisdictions. The research was undertaken by a team at University College Cork. The views expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Disability Authority.
The National Disability Authority has been working on a suite of indicators to document the outcomes being achieved for people with disabilities under areas covered by the National Disability Strategy. To complement the data available from official data sources, NDA commissioned a survey in 2011 with a particular focus on any difficulties people with disabilities had in getting to where they want to go. The survey looked, among other matters, at access to transport, and at whether local facilities had steps into them. This survey was conducted by Ipsos MRBI, with a telephone sample of 1,000 people, supplemented by a booster sample to bring the number of disability households covered to 500. Similar surveys were conducted for the NDA in 2009 (Red C) and 2004 (MRBI).
This series of 10 booklets provides comprehensive best practice guidance on how to design, build and manage buildings and spaces so that they can be readily accessed and used by everyone, regardless of age, size, ability or disability. The booklets were launched by Mr Phil Hogan, T.D., Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government on 23rd February 2012.
The National Disability Authority undertook a national survey of public attitudes to disability in Ireland in July and August 2011. This survey builds upon previous surveys conducted by the Authority in 2001 and 2006.
The National Disability Authority's 2012 report on implementation of the Croke Park Agreement can be found here. Savings are being achieved through working with a reduced staff complement, and through savings in the cost of central services.
NDA publishes all Requests for Tenders on the eTenders (www.etenders.gov.ie) procurement website. NDA is currently seeking submissions in relation to Requests for Tender, details of which can be found here.
NDA has undertaken an extensive programme of work identifying contemporary developments in disability services. This work is now available in a series of papers culminating in the NDA's advice paper to the 2010 Value for Money and Policy Review of Disability Services in Ireland.
To facilitate the development of policy and practice and to improve the dissemination of research findings, the National Disability Authority hosts an annual conference. The papers from the NDA Annual Conference 2011 and the NDA Annual Conference 2012 are available.
You can find some recent policy submissions and advice papers from the NDA in this section.
The vision, mission and strategic objectives of the National Disability Strategy have been set out in a policy document which is available at the Department of Justice and Equality. Under the terms of the Disability Act 2005, six Government departments prepared Sectoral Plans on disability, which are now in force.
The NDA has appointed Mr Alan Dalton as Access Officer. He can arrange extra help for people with disabilities who use the NDA's information and services. The Disability Act 2005 requires every public body to have a least one Access Officer. If you need help to use the NDA's information and services, you can contact Alan Dalton by phone at (01) 608 0406 or by sending an email to accessofficer@nda.ie.
If you have a general question for the NDA, you should contact us by phone at (01) 608 0400 or by sending an email to nda@nda.ie.
For questions about entitlements, please phone the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 074000, search the Citizens Information website or visit your local Citizens Information Centre.
The NDA has a complaints protocol for people who are not happy with the NDA's service.