Poverty can stop people with a disability from being included or having a good life.

The international organisation United Nations (the UN) looks at people’s rights. There is an international agreement on the rights of disabled people, this is called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The UNCRPD says that many people with disabilities live in poverty.

The Irish Government says that people with disabilities are two times more likely to be living in poverty than people without disabilities.

The overall poverty rate in Australia was just over 13%, people with disability had a poverty rate of 17%.

In the UK nearly half of the 14.2 million people in poverty live in families with a disabled person (6.9 million people equal to 48.3% of those in poverty).

Some reasons people with a disability are living in poverty

One of the main reasons is most people with a disability are not able to work and are reliant on income support.

Another factor is, many people with a disability have extra costs compared to people without a disability. Some people with a disability need to spend more money on electricity and medical expenses. When public transport is not good or easy to access, people may have to get taxis. This effects people living in rural areas more.

People with a disability may also need assistive technologies, special clothing and footwear.

Changes that may help people with a disability to improve their lifestyle

More accessible public transport means that people can use it more instead of needing to use taxis.

Improving access to education for all people with disabilities can help people to get further education.

Removing barriers to employment can help people with disabilities get a job.

Employers should be helped to support workers with a disability to stay in jobs and to progress.

We found some useful links with information and help for people with a disability:

www.inclusionireland.ie

http://disabilityrightsuk.org

https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Human-rights-scrutiny/PublicSectorGuidanceSheets/Pages/Rightsofpeoplewithdisability.aspx