ON THE MARGINS - DISABLED PEOPLES EXPERIENCE OF EMPLOYMENT IN DONEGAL, WEST IRELAND

Traditionally studies of disabled people's access to the labour market have been largely restricted to labour market 'censuses' often conduc ted by government agencies, and econometric studies. This paper explor es disabled people's access to and experiences of employment ill Doneg al, West Ireland, using a qualitative approach. Twelve disabled people and four lion-disabled helpers, divided into two focus groups, were i nterviewed using an in-depth, informal conversational strategy. A numb er of different, salient issues were identified in regards to training , and gaining and maintaining employment, ranging from ignorance and d iscrimination, to poor access (both workplace and transport), to legis lation. Respondents identified a number or potential solutions which m ainly focused around disability awareness, removing barriers to gainin g employment and the implementation of stronger legislation. In the fi nal section, the issues and solutions raised by disabled people are co mpared to those identified by, non-disabled people, collected in a par allel study.