Martin plan to make nightlife “more inclusive” for disabled people

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin has announced the launch of a new Night-Time Economy accessibility survey.

The survey was developed by the Department in conjunction with Ireland Thinks and was informed by consultation with Disabled Persons’ Organisations, artists and other stakeholders across the disability community.

The purpose of the survey is to examine the challenges for patrons and artists with disabilities accessing the Night Time Economy.

“If the Night-Time Economy is to be truly inclusive and diverse, it is important to examine what barriers exist for people with disabilities when socialising at night in order to find practical solutions in consultation with those affected on how to deliver an inclusive accessible Night-Time Economy,” a statement from the Department read.

Questions include how accessible are night time activities such as a concert, the cinema, the theatre, a gallery, a restaurant, sporting venue or a nightclub.

The survey also drills down into where difficulties might lie with accessibility, finding out about that online, getting transport to a venue and the role of staff too.

Announcing the launch of the survey, Minister Martin said “the Night-Time Economy is where we meet friends, enjoy what our cities and towns have to offer and where we create and express ourselves. However, if we want our nightlife to be truly inclusive and diverse, we need to first understand the lived experiences that people with disabilities face when performing or socialising at night.”

“I want to encourage people to participate in this survey so we can begin to understand the type of interventions needed to ensure we make nightlife accessible for all. I am looking forward to seeing the report from this survey and the set of actions needed to improve our nightlife for everyone.”

The survey results will be collated into a report by Ireland Thinks and will contain a set of actions to further the Night-Time Economy Taskforce objective of an inclusive, accessible nightlife. These actions will be considered by the Minister who will support and work with the relevant Government Departments, agencies and the Night-Time Sector to progress the recommendations.

Discussing the survey, DJ and activist Louise Bruton said “this survey is a great opportunity for disabled people to point out all the ways in which the Night-Time Economy can become more inclusive. It will be a huge learning curve for everyone working in the arts and entertainment sectors in Ireland – possibly even a shock – but we cannot continue to exclude so many people from living fully enriched social lives any longer.”

Also commenting on the survey, artist Emilie Conway said “as a disabled artist myself, I am passionate that more disabled people engage in arts and culture as both artists and audiences. But accessibility is a huge barrier.   For example, some places are physically inaccessible, while some booking websites are inaccessible or very difficult to use for disabled people.

If you are a person with a disability, an artist with a disability working in the Night Time Economy or an organisation working with persons’ with a disability, you are invited to participate in this research by completing an online survey.

For the main survey please click here

If you are a person with an intellectual disability, or someone assisting a person with an intellectual disability, please click here for the easy to read survey

The survey will close on Monday 10^th June 2024.