WCDL Disability Working Group 

This working group has been in operation for a number of years and is chaired by Mr Hugh McGuire who is a Board member of WCDL.

The members comprise a mixture of service providers such as PWDI,HSE, National Learning Network, Irish Wheelchair Association, Westmeath County Council, DSFA, Citizens Information Service  etc  and service users as it is extremely important to ensure that people with disabilities are included in policy making.

Disability is a very complex area of work and it cuts across all 3 measures of the LDSIP, which are Services to the Unemployed, Community Development and Community Based Youth Initiatives. Issues such as access to buildings is hugely important as well as having information in various formats which people can easily access such as audio,  visual, Braille etc.

The Disability Act 2005 is a policy document which the Disability Working Group use as a tool to measure if organisations are doing what they are supposed to as laid down by the ACT.A close working relationship is ongoing with the Access Officer of Westmeath County Council to ensure that the Council are complying with the Disability Act in areas of its work. Simultaneously a close working relationship is developing with Department of Social and Family Affairs who manage the Disability Activation project in Westmeath. This project is identifying and addressing barriers which are preventing people from accessing training, education and employment and is currently working on developing tailored made courses to suit participants.

In 2009 WCDL will be committed to disability proofing   all its work. Once completed this will have positive effects for all   WCDL projects, whilst it is envisaged many challenges will emerge  as a result of this work .This is currently being planned at the moment and the first step in the process will be disability awareness training for Board, Management and staff. Working from a social model of disability which is of the view that it is actually society that dis-ables people it is hoped WCDL will have a greater understanding of the complex area of disability and be in a better position to support the advocacy role the disability working group has ,in relation to identifying and addressing barriers that people with disabilities face in their daily living. A simple example is ensuring a photocopier is accessible for use by a person who is a  wheelchair  user as opposed to having to ask someone to photocopy a document for them.

Changing the way society views disability will go along way to making improvements and WCDL Disability Working Group under the leadership of Mr Hugh McGuire will be working very hard to achieve this in 2009 and beyond.

The disability working group have approved disability proofing training for management and staff of WCDL. Members of the disability working group have also been invited to participate. It is likely the  2 day training course will take place in June. Full details to follow shortly.

The group are also exploring the possibility of organizing another disability showcase event in the autumn and are researching the possibility of organizing workshops in specialist areas such as sexual health- funding permitting.

For further information on work in this area please contact Linda- Jo Quinn LDSIP Co-ordinator on 090 6494555 or email her on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it