Half of new public buildings inaccessible to disabled people

About half of the new public buildings vetted by the National Commission Persons with Disability last year were not deemed to be accessible to disabled people, including wheelchair users.

Only 25 of the 45 buildings inspected by the commission complied with accessibility guidelines, the commission's annual report showed.

This resulted in a 21 per cent drop over the previous year when 54 of 57 buildings inspected were given the green light. Concerned about this drop, commission director Freddy Bezzina said he feared developers were not complying with the guidelines, which aimed to ensure buildings were accessible.

He also questioned whether such irregularities passed unnoticed by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

When Malta adopted the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act in 2000, Mepa entrusted the commission with the responsibility of vetting all new project applications, or extensive modifications, of buildings "of major use" to ensure they complied with access for all guidelines.

But, Mr Bezzina feared, not all project applications were reaching the commission for vetting.

Last year, the number of project applications sent to the commission for inspection numbered 469, a 29 per cent drop when compared to 659 applications in 2007. Of these, 189, or 40 per cent, were recommended for approval by the commission.

The lack of accessibility for wheelchair users was raised earlier this month when 18-year-old Roberta Magri wrote a letter to the Prime Minister complaining about the matter. She vented her frustration after she had to give up watching a film at a cinema because it was being shown in a theatre that was not suitable for wheelchair users.

Speaking during the launch of the annual report, commission chairman Joe Camilleri expressed concern that not enough jobs were being made available for disabled people. Not only were disabled people finding it difficult to find work but the jobs they were eventually given often fell below their capability levels.

"We are not expecting anybody to be paid for 40 hours a week while actually working for 20. This is about flexibility," Mr Camilleri said.

The concern was shared by Social Policy Minister John Dalli who said the problem appeared to stem from stereotypes and prejudice, which still existed.

"Many employers still think disabled people are less capable, take a lot of sick leave and need special equipment but the work of the commission shows otherwise. What you need is adequate support and flexibility," Mr Dalli said.

He pointed out that the United Nation's Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol came into force in 2007. As a signatory, Malta had to ratify the convention, so the ministry set up an inter-ministerial committee to identify what had to be done and establish whether any laws had to be updated.

The committee's work was almost done and it was expected that, by the end of the year, the convention and its protocol would be ratified.

The annual report listed the work the commission carried out last year when it worked on updating the National Policy on Employment for People with a Disability.

The commission also continued its work to set up a register of disabled people to keep contact with them and started working on the €1.5 million project to build a centre for independent living in Ħal Far, which will take two years to complete. The report noted that last year the number of people who held a special ID card, that seeks to ensure equal opportunities, rose from 9,038 in 2007 to 9,417.

In last year's budget, the government increased the allocation for special assistance services by €46,500. This translated into a 53 per cent rise in the number of people (304) who benefited from this financial assistance and a 61 per cent drop in the waiting list.

The report showed that last year there was a 59 per cent increase in applications for the Blue Badge for reserved parking. However, 18 per cent of the 1,565 applications had not been recommended by the commission.