The problems faced by people with disabilities in Croatia are repeated year after year. The situation is better than five years ago, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, said the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities, Darijo Jurisic, at the presentation of the annual work report for 2022 in Parliament on Friday.

People with disabilities still face many obstacles in society, when looking for work and in education, Jurisic said, emphasising the need to raise awareness of their rights.

The increases in disability allowances have been offset by daily price increases for all products and services. In addition, people with disabilities are struggling with the shortage of domestic helpers, carers and skilled workers, he said.

Of the total 294 general recommendations and warnings addressed by the Ombudsman’s Office to state authorities, local government units and other legal and natural persons in 2022, 101 of them, or slightly less than 35%, were fully accepted, about 20% were partially accepted and 11% were not accepted.

High rate of non-acceptance of recommendations in local government units

Most of the accepted recommendations concerned the areas of accessibility and mobility, while most of the unaccepted and unanswered recommendations concerned the areas of education and social protection.

A high rate of non-acceptance of recommendations was found in local government units, which are not yet aware of the importance of their role in ensuring equality of people with disabilities in the local community, Jurisic said.

The Office also proposed and commented on a total of 118 pieces of legislation, of which only 11 were adopted, three were partially adopted, 37 proposals were not adopted, while the rest were noted.

Independent MEP Marija Selak-Raspudic pointed out that an early warning system for children with developmental disabilities has not yet been established. She called on the Parliament to oblige the government to adopt a national strategic plan for such a system by the end of this year. She also pointed out that there are not enough specialists and that an initial diagnosis takes more than six months.

Jeckov: Women with disabilities should receive more attention

Irena Dragic (Social Democratic Party) warned about the small number of secondary education programmes for children with disabilities, only 22, which are rarely adapted to the needs of the labour market. She pointed out that the possibility of working from home with full salary and full seniority and reducing working hours would give people with disabilities security and the opportunity to work and live from their work.

Marin Miletic (Most) emphasised how important it is to give people with disabilities the opportunity to do sports. Only 2% of them participate in some form of sport, so there is still a lot of room for improvement in this regard, he said.

Dragana Jeckov (Independent Democratic Serb Party) said that more attention should be paid to women with disabilities, as they are recognised as being more discriminated against and at risk of multiple discrimination. She said that those who ignore the Ombudsman’s recommendations should be put “on a kind of blacklist”.

Ljubica Lukacic (ruling party HDZ) said that the adoption of the law on inclusive services and personal assistance last year represented “a revolutionary change” in the exercise of the rights of people with disabilities. There has also been great progress in the employment system, as around 17,000 people with disabilities are now employed.

Jelena Milos (Mozemo party) said it would be good to see how the implementation of these laws is going and whether there are any problems. She called for the regular adjustment of disability benefits in line with inflation.

The report itself was praised as comprehensive and very informative.