This chapter outlines the extent of informal social supports in Ireland as related by persons with disabilities. Persons aged 15 years and over were asked how many people they can rely on in the event of a serious problem, the extent to which they feel that others show interest or care in what they are doing and how easy or difficult they find it to get practical help from neighbours.
What we will see is that there is little difference in the experiences of persons with disabilities compared to the State average in terms of accessing informal social supports (with high levels of support reported in some cases). When we look at the experiences more closely, we can see some differences depending on the nature of the disability being experienced.
At State level, 30% of persons aged 15 years and over report that they can rely on 6 or more persons in the event of a serious problem. This is marginally higher than that of persons with disabilities – 28% of persons with disabilities reporting being able to rely on 6 or more persons. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1.
At State level, over three-quarters (77%) report being able to rely on 3 or more persons in the event of a serious problem – compared to 71% of persons with disabilities. At State level, 1% of persons report having no one to rely on in the event of a serious problem, with 3% of persons with disabilities reporting likewise. See Table 4.1.
| None | One or two | Three to five | Six or more | |
| State | 1 | 22 | 47 | 30 |
| Persons with any type of physical or sensory difficulty | 3 | 26 | 43 | 28 |
Of the disability groups, the disability groups Difficulty with remembering and concentrating report the highest levels for having 3 or more persons to rely on (75% of this group), with the disability group dealing with people with Difficulties hearing in a quiet room reporting the lowest levels of having 3 or more persons to rely on (64% of this group). See Table 4.1.
The disability group Difficulty in walking up or down 12 steps report the highest levels for having no-one to rely on in the event of a serious problem (5% of this group), with the disability group Difficulty in seeing reporting the lowest levels of having no-one to rely on (1% of this group). See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.2.
| Disability type | Difficulty in seeing | Difficulty in hearing what is said in a quiet room | Difficulty in hearing what is said in a noisier room | Difficulty in walking half a km | Difficulty in walking up or down 12 steps | Difficulty in remembering or concentrating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nobody to count on | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Close to 9-in-10 (89%) of persons with disabilities report that others show some or a lot of interest or concern in what they are doing, only marginally less than the average for the State as a whole (91%). At State level, 2% of persons aged 15 years and over report that no-one shows any interest or concern in what they are doing – compared to 3% of persons with disabilities. See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.3.
| No concern and interest | Little concern and interest | Uncertain | Some concern and interest | A lot of concern and interest | |
| State | 2 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 60 |
| Persons with any type of physical or sensory difficulty | 3 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 65 |
Of the disability groups, the group Difficulty in hearing what is said in a conversation with one other person in a quiet room even when using a hearing aid report the highest levels for the interest others show in them (98% of this group reporting that others show some or a lot of interest or concern in what they are doing). The disability group Difficulty in remembering or concentrating reports the relatively lowest, at 86% of this group. See Table 42.
Taking the groups no or little concern shown together, we can see at State level that 5% of persons aged 15 years and over report that others show no or little concern in what they are doing. Persons with disabilities feel this more – at 7% of persons with disabilities reporting that others show no or little concern in what they are doing. See Table 4.2.
At State level, three-quarters of persons aged 15 years and over report that they find it Easy or very easy to get practical help from neighbours. Persons with disabilities report the same level for getting practical help (75%). At State level, 3% of persons report they find it Very difficult to get practical help from neighbours – 5% of persons with disabilities report likewise. The disability group Difficulty in walking half a km on level ground without the use of any aid reports the highest levels for finding it Very difficult to get practical help from neighbours, at 8% of this group. See Table 4.3 and Figure 4.4.
| Very difficult | Difficult | Possible | Easy or very easy | |
| State | 3 | 6 | 17 | 75 |
| Persons with any type of physical or sensory difficulty | 5 | 6 | 14 | 75 |
Persons with Difficulty in hearing what is said in a conversation with one other person in a quiet room even when using a hearing aid report the highest levels for finding it Easy or very easy to get practical help from neighbours (82% of this group), with persons with Difficulty in remembering or concentrating reporting the relatively lowest (72% of this group). See Table 4.3.
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