Disability Research on Social Participation

The report National Disability Survey 2006 – Volume 2, published by the CSO today, presents the detailed analyses of the situation of people with a disability in Ireland in the following nine areas:

• Caring and help from other persons;


• Attitudes of other people;


• Transport;


• Built environment accessibility;


• Education;


• Work and training;


• Social participation;


• Sport and exercise;


• and some general issues such as use of medication, health and smoking.

Key findings from the report include:

One-third of adults with a disability in private households had some difficulty doing  routine tasks inside their home because of their disability, while a further 19% had a lot of difficulty. Overall, 43% of men had difficulty compared with 59% of women.

People living in nursing homes, hospitals and children’s homes had higher levels of difficulty doing everyday activities. For example, 86% had difficulty taking a bath or shower by themselves compared with 31% of persons in private households.

Around 56% of persons with a disability in private households received help with their everyday activities. The most common source of help was from family members who lived with the person - 42% of persons in private households who had a disability received such help.

A high proportion of adults with a disability in private households felt supported by the attitudes of their Family (90%), Health and care staff (87%) and Friends (79%).

Bathroom adaptations were the most used adaptation in the home with 20% of persons with a disability in private households using them. This proportion rose to 45% of persons aged 75 & over. A further 12% of persons with a disability in private households needed but did not have bathroom adaptations.

A lack of money was the most common reason for not having specialised features in the home with over half (52%) of adults in private households with a disability citing this as a reason.

Difficulty getting on and off public transport vehicles was given by 16% of persons aged 5 & over in private households as a reason for not using or having difficulty using public transport. Difficulty transferring from one service to another was the next most cited reason (12%), while difficulty getting to the public transport was reported by 9%.

Around half of persons with a disability in private households experienced difficulty with Going to town shopping (56%), Going away for a break or holiday (53%), Taking part in community life (54%) and Socialising in a public venue (49%).

People with a disability rated their general health as Very good (15%), Good (35%), Fair (38%), Bad (10%) and Very bad (3%). A higher proportion of those living in private households reported that their health was Very good (16% compared with 6% in nursing homes, hospitals and children’s homes).

Around one third (32%) of respondents aged 5 & over whose disability limited or affected them before they completed their full-time education indicated that they had stopped their education sooner than they intended because of their disability.

Three-quarters (76%) of adults with a disability never avoided doing things because of the reactions of other people, 17% sometimes avoided doing things and 7% frequently or always avoided doing things. Older people were less affected by the attitudes of others.

The report is available on the CSO website

For further information:

Contact John McCartney at 01 498 4215, Norita Murphy at 01 498 4295, Gerry Brady at 01 498 4201 or Bernie Ryan at 01 498 4285