International Persons with Disabilities day
Disability sports participation in Ireland has seen substantial growth, with over 325,000 individuals or 3.2% of all people with disabilities engaging in regular physical activity. Despite this increase, further investment and work are needed to ensure everyone, regardless of disability, age, and background, can reap the health benefits of physical activity.
The Irish Sports Monitor’s 2023 survey reveals that disabled individuals have lower participation rates than those without disabilities. Personal exercise, swimming, cycling, running, and yoga being the most popular activities. Socioeconomic background also affected this rate, with significantly fewer individuals from lower-income households participating.
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of persons with disabilities walk recreationally each week, lower than 72% of the non-disabled population. The same trend is seen in children’s sports participation, with fewer children with disabilities engaged in physical education and extra-curricular school sports.
Sport Ireland has released an action plan to improve disabled persons’ inclusion in sports and is appointing a dedicated Disability Inclusion Lead. Promising initiatives, like Donegal Sports Partnership’s seated surfboard and Westmeath Sports Partnership’s CAST Programme, have shown the potential for adapted opportunities and inclusive models. However, adults with disabilities are twice as likely to miss the national physical activity guideline of 150 minutes per week, illuminating the need for more progress.
In future, Sport Ireland’s policy, ‘Participation in Sport by People with Disabilities,’ aims to bolster disability sport through further investment. This includes the 2025 Watersports Inclusion Games and initiatives by national disability sports organizations like the Irish Wheelchair Association and Vision Sports Ireland.
