Meeting aims to highlight the rights of deaf people

From: Belfast Telegraph - Belfast,Northern Ireland,UK - Dec 1, 2004

A meeting aimed at informing deaf people about their rights will take place in Londonderry tomorrow.

The Royal National Institute for the Deaf, a charity which represents 219,000 deaf and hard of hearing people in Northern Ireland, will hold a public meeting at the City Hotel to let deaf people know what their rights are under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The DDA requires that employers and service providers are to make 'reasonable adjustments' to premises to ensure that disabled people can use their services.

Service providers have to make reasonable adjustments if, without these, it would be 'impossible or unreasonably difficult' for disabled people to use the service.

The DDA also says that employers have to take reasonable steps to make sure that disabled people are not at a substantial disadvantage.

Simon Robinson, legal officer with RNID's Case Work Team and DDA specialist, will be available at tomorrow's meeting to offer free advice.

"This is a really good opportunity for deaf and hard of hearing people to come along and ask questions about the DDA.

"It will enable them to understand what their rights are and how to use them."

The meeting will begin at 7.30pm.

2004 Independent News and Media (NI)