Lead with inclusion is not just a buzzword for people with disabilities – it is for everyone. It adds value to society, and a civilised society is measured by how it treats those who are disadvantaged.

If you see something that goes against the grain of inclusion, it is your duty to speak up and call it out. It may not be obvious to everyone, so do not assume someone else will deal with it, or that it is not your concern or not in your interest. Inclusion is everyone’s business.

In the 1980s in Limerick city, there was a Dunnes Stores by Sarsfield Bridge – long gone now, with the building currently occupied by the University of Limerick. At the main entrance there was a set of steps leading into the shop. One day, passing by, I saw a woman with a buggy struggling to get down the steps. I stopped and helped her, but it made something very clear to me – there was no way for a wheelchair user to access that shop at all.

It was difficult for people with buggies and prams, for older people, and for anyone with mobility issues – but for a wheelchair user it was effectively impossible. The so-called side entrance, which sat lower than the front of the shop, also had steps. No ramp. No lift. Worse still, once inside, there was another set of steps splitting the shop in two. Even if you managed to get in with help from passers-by, you were then dependent on the kindness of strangers just to move from one end of the shop to the other.

It was a nightmare scenario. I wrote a letter to Dunnes Stores in anger. It was ignored. Years passed with no change. Eventually, almost 30 years later, Dunnes Stores opened a newly built store at Harvey’s Quay, complete with lifts to access the drapery department and upper car park levels. But that came after decades of excluding people with difficulty accessing their Sarsfield Street store.

Excluding people with disabilities is easy. For profit-driven companies, inclusion is often seen as an overhead rather than a human right.

We have come a long way since then, but we still have a long way to go. As a society, we need to do better. We are moving in the right direction, but reaching true inclusion is up to all of us – and when we get there, we all benefit.

Liam Beville
Active Disability Ireland Ambassador