NCBI is a not for profit charitable organisation which offers support and services nationwide to people experiencing difficulties with their eyesight.

The EU has a unique role to play in shaping national policy and MEPs can help eliminate some of the barriers to inclusion for people with sight loss by ensuring that disability remains a priority and that it is mainstreamed into all areas of EU policy. NCBI envisages a time when other EU Member States will look to Ireland as an example of best practice in mainstreaming disability issues and in enshrining the rights of people with sight loss into national policy.

People living with sight loss and their families represent a more significant proportion of the electorate every year. NCBI provides support and services to over 14,000 people living with sight loss in Ireland.

According to a recent study published by VISPA (Vision Impaired Service Providers Alliance), the number of blind people in Ireland over the age of 55 is set to increase by 43% over the 10-year period from 2006 to 2016 (from 3,800 to 5,500). The number of people over the age of 55 who have impaired vision is set to increase by 45% for the same period (from 11,000 to 16,000). Some of these conditions are either preventable or manageable with careful and consistent treatment so it is vital that we allocate resources to educating people of the lifestyle issues that can affect their sight, such as smoking for example.

NCBI therefore asks European election candidates to:

• Commit to the prioritisation of disability
• Create and support disability-specific legislation where necessary
• Examine the impact of mainstream policies on people with sight loss
• Commit to becoming advocates for people with sight loss in Europe

I have outlined below some examples of issues where MEPs can support the work of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland and people with sight loss.

Des Kenny
Chief Executive, NCBI
May 2009

1. Education and employment

Although legislation at national and European level exists to promote employment of disabled people and to require employers to be non-discriminatory, unemployment rates remain high among people with sight loss. Four out of five blind people are likely to be out of work and two out of three vision impaired people are likely to be unemployed.

Employment is problematic for any person with a disability but raises some specific issues in relation to vision impairment. For example, there can be a period of 6-12 months after traumatic sight loss when adjustment to daily living needs makes it difficult for a person to address employment issues. There is also evidence that after two years out of the labour market, re-entry to employment is very difficult, which leaves a very narrow period of optimum opportunity for re-introduction to the labour market.

On a more positive note, young people who have been well supported in education are more likely to progress to employment. For this to continue, it is essential that blind and vision impaired children have equal access to mainstream education. More needs to be done at EU level to support the inclusion of people with sight loss in wider society, including education and employment.

2. Prevention of sight loss

Early detection is vital in the fight against avoidable sight loss. Some of the main causes of blindness, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, for example, can be successfully treated and managed if caught early. Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of sight loss in people over the age of 50 in Ireland. Established risk factors for AMD include age and genetics or family history; factors that people have no control over. The only modifiable risk factor, according to the World Health Organisation, is smoking.

Smokers are up to four times more likely to develop AMD than non-smokers and develop AMD 10 years earlier than people who have never smoked. The good news is that smokers can lower their risk of sight loss by giving up smoking now. Studies have shown that the risk of developing AMD reduces significantly 10 years after you stop smoking.

In 2007 warnings on the link between smoking and blindness were displayed on cigarette packets in Australia for the first time. A recent survey carried out on behalf of the AMD Alliance International shows that awareness of the link between smoking and sight loss is significantly higher in Australia (77%) than in any of the other countries surveyed. In Ireland, awareness of this link is low, at 48%.

The smoking ban has already gone a long way to reducing the effects of passive smoking in Ireland. NCBI hopes that Ireland can take the lead in Europe by introducing warnings about the link between smoking and sight loss on cigarette packets but we cannot do this without support at EU level.

3. Right to read

Like everyone else, blind and partially sighted people want to read for many reasons such as to access education, culture or leisure. However, only around 5% of books are ever published in formats accessible to blind and partially sighted people, such as large print, braille or audio.

To address this problem it is vital that NCBI, which provides the bulk of the accessible format books available in Ireland today, is able to legally share our books with voluntary organisations of blind people in other countries. In that way we can radically increase the amount of books accessible to blind people across the world. Currently international barriers in copyright law prevent this from happening.

The World Blind Union (WBU) worked with a group of experts to consider a possible WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons. Supporting this Treaty is just one of the ways that Irish MEPs can begin to eliminate disadvantage for blind and vision impaired people. This has commenced with a change in a lower VAT rate for Audio books.

Changes at European level in TV platforms is seeing member states move to a digital TV platform. We hope that MEPs will encourage the lobby to persuade national broadcasters to introduce platforms amenable to adaptation for audio description. Audio description is the name given to a narrative track for blind and vision impaired viewers of television, movies, the performing and the visual arts. Audio description enriches the enjoyment of the plot or content of visual passages or moments in a programme, performance or film by a person who is blind or vision impaired. Further information and an example of Audio Description can be found on our Media Conversion Service page.

MEPs should see that regulation imposes on the manufacturers of TV sets the obligation to ensure that remote controls and access to online electronic programme guides are easy for blind people and for persons with reduced vision.

About NCBI

About 18 per cent of people using our services are completely blind, while 82 per cent have varying degrees of usable vision. We were established in 1931 to promote the full independence of people who are blind or vision impaired and now provides a range of services to almost 14,000 people.

NCBI also provides a range of services to public and private organisations so that their services are accessible to people who are blind and vision impaired.

We offer a range of services to assist people with vision impairments to adapt to their situation and maintain their independence. These services, which include advice and information as well as emotional and practical support, can be provided to people at home or in one of our resource
centres, which are situated throughout the country. Our services are available to people of all ages, from birth through to senior citizens.

NCBI’s Media Centre provides a braille unit and five audio recording studios and is the largest provider of braille and audio material in Ireland. We produce material and information in braille and audio formats for people who are blind and vision impaired and to a range of public and private organisations.

NCBI promotes the accessible design of technology for use by everyone, including people with disabilities. Our Centre for Inclusive Technology works with public and private organisations to establish standards and to ensure that technologies are accessible.

NCBI,
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Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.

Tel: 01 8307033
Fax: 01 8307787
Email: info@ncbi.ie
Web: www.ncbi.ie