Northern Ireland

Campaigns - RNIB Northern Ireland

Summary: How we work to achieve positive and lasting change for blind/partially sighted people in Northern Ireland.

• Eliminating avoidable sight loss
• Access to Information
• Equipment campaign
• Increasing income for people with sight loss
• Northern Ireland Executive Programme for Government
• Campaign assistance and further information

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RNIB campaigns at local, regional, national and European Level to improve legislation, regulation, and the policies, procedures and practices of public sector and commercial organizations.

Eliminating avoidable sight loss

Get your eyes checked regularly!

A great deal of sight loss in today's society can be avoided by regular eye health checks. We strongly urge everybody to have an eye health check every two years up to the age of 60 and every year after that. It is unfortunate that some people have to pay for eye health checks, and we have called on the Northern Ireland Executive to put that right, but in the meantime paying for an eye test is still money well spent.

There is some better news now for patients with "wet" age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Until recently, the National Health Service in Northern Ireland would only pay for the most effective drugs if you had already lost the sight of one eye. This cruel policy led many people to spend their life savings on private treatment or simply lose their sight. The Department of Health has responded to pressure from patients and RNIB by making funds available from June 2008 to enable patients to be treated when the condition develops in the first eye. It will take a couple of months to set up the new clinics and train the new staff but we are pressing for this to be done as quickly as possible.

So, if you have been paying privately for wet AMD treatment, or turned down by the NHS in the past, we urge you to demand immediate treatment and keep demanding it every time you see your consultant. Not everyone will be clinically suitable, but if the latest drugs would help you, you deserve them and you deserve them now.

Access to Information

We aim to ensure that blind and partially sighted people get information in an accessible form at the same time as their sighted peers.

Give me the book!

There is a huge shortage of books in formats such as large print, audio and braille. Nowhere is this more acutely felt than in our schools, where blind and partially sighted children are often unable to get the books they need at the time they need them. This is despite the unstinting efforts of teachers and support staff, who have to spend hours cutting, pasting, scanning and re-formatting because of the lack of a central service or any systematic access to electronic versions of textbooks.

An RNIB report called Where’s my book, which included Northern Ireland, indicates clearly that these problems have a marked effect on the educational and social development of school pupils with sight loss.

The Government has acknowledged that there is a need to act. RNIB Northern Ireland is in close discussion with the Department for Education to identify the best way forward but we are clear that we need support from public funds to set up a modern, efficient system which makes full use of the latest technology and leaves teachers and support staff free to concentrate on education.

Right to Read

RNIB believes that blind and partially sighted people have the right to read the same books, newspapers and magazines as everyone else, at the same time and at the same price. At the moment, less than five per cent of all published titles ever find their way into large print, audio or braille. This excludes blind and partially sighted people from a vast wealth of information, inspiration and entertainment.

If you would like to support our campaign, or give us your own views and experiences, then please sign the Right to Read declaration.

Nationally, we are working for a greater number of accessible titles through new partnerships with publishers and by putting pressure on Government to fund innovative approaches.

Can you read your bill?

As a customer, and as a citizen, you are entitled to receive written information in a format you can read; large print, audio, braille, email or over the telephone, whatever best suits you. Lots of banks, building societies, utility companies and telecoms providers already offer this, but only if you ask them. Some are still not up to the mark, but we urge you to demand bills, brochures and other information in the format which you find most convenient, and to let us know if you have any problems.

Public bodies, too, such as your local council, have a duty to let you have information in the form in which you want it. Don’t let them duck their duty!

Equipment campaign

Blind and partially sighted people need various items of equipment to help in daily living, mobility and communications. Kitchen gadgets, software to get you on to the Internet, talking clocks or task lighting are just some examples.

Our campaign report, "Ill equipped - Are Blind and Partially Sighted People in Northern Ireland Given the Tools for an Active and Fulfilling Life?", published in May 2008, reveals a patchy and paltry picture, highlighting inconsistencies and a much lower level of service than that offered to other disability groups.

• Download "Ill Equipped" (PDF, 100KB).

A report from the Social Services Inspectorate, "Challenge and change", published in 2005, recommended fundamental changes in assessment of need and provision of equipment. We are working closely with the Department of Health, the Boards and Trusts to bring about the improvements urgently needed.

Increasing income for people with sight loss

Campaigning for fairness in the Disability Living Allowance

Support our lobby of Parliament on 15 October, 2008. For the latest information, and to see how you can help, go to the national DLA Campaign update.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) compensates disabled people for the additional costs which disability inevitably brings.

While its introduction in the 1990s marked a welcome advance in our benefits system, the current rules do not adequately take account of the mobility problems faced by people with sight loss.

The mobility component of DLA has two levels: people who can’t walk are (quite rightly) entitled to the higher level, while people who can walk but not see are generally only entitled to the lower rate. Yet they too face massive barriers to mobility.

RNIB in Northern Ireland and across the UK has been campaigning to put this right. Over a thousand people (including blind people from Northern Ireland) lobbied Parliament in December 2006 and over 250 MPs (including 10 from Northern Ireland) signed a motion in support of this cause.

• DLA campaign - find out more

We also support the campaign to remove another unfair aspect of DLA. If you become disabled over the age of 65, you can’t apply for DLA. You can apply for Attendance Allowance, and we encourage you to do so. But this is not as high as DLA – it has no mobility component. We don’t believe blind and partially sighted people over 65 should receive no help to get out and about.

Changes to Incapacity Benefit

We are also worried at the effect which changes to Incapacity Benefit, due to come into force from October 2008, will have on blind and partially sighted people of working age.

Don’t miss out on your entitlement

While we are campaigning to improve benefits, we don’t want anyone to lose out on what they are already entitled to. So if you or someone you know wants to check out whether you are getting everything to which you are entitled, why not consult our Benefits Advisory Service?

Northern Ireland Executive Programme for Government

The Northern Ireland Executive's Programme for Government overlooks many of the rights, needs and aspirations of people who are blind or partially sighted, or are at risk of losing their sight. The Programme relies too heavily on economic growth alone, and fails to set measurable targets in many areas which are vital to the quality of life of disabled people in general and blind and partially sighted people in particular.

Sight loss gets a raw deal. There are, for example, currently no targets in the Draft Programme to reduce avoidable sight loss. Laudable targets on the provision of wheelchairs are not matched by any reference to the communications and mobility equipment required by blind and partially sighted people.

We want the inclusion of disabled people in society to become much more central. In our response to the draft programme, we recommend a number of additional and more specific targets aimed at reducing avoidable sight loss and improving the education, employment and quality of life of disabled people.

• Download our full response (Word, 81KB).

Campaign assistance and further information

We need people with sight loss to assist with our campaigns. If you would like to become a Campaign Supporter and attend lobbying and campaigning events please contact us at the Belfast office or email rnibni@rnib.org.uk

For further information on RNIB Northern Ireland’s campaigns email rnibni@rnib.org.uk or contact the Belfast office.

Content author: rnibni@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13