Vision Week Events

Sight loss can affect anyone, young or old. It can occur suddenly or can develop over time. Over 224,000 people in Ireland have a visual impairment – this includes people with partial sight and nearly 13,000 people classified as blind.

We are organising a march to Dáil Éireann to make a pre-budget submission to the government and ask them to ‘See Our View’

Why march?

No Further Budget Cuts. VISPA will demand that the Government honours its promise to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities (as laid out in the Programme for Government) by imposing no further cuts on people who are blind or vision impaired in Budget 2012. People with sight loss have faced cuts of 8% to Blind Pension alone over the last two years, as well as the cuts to the funding for organisations like the VISPA partners. Take this opportunity to say ‘No More Cuts’ and to have your voice heard.

Who can take part?

The members of VISPA (NCBI, Fighting Blindness, St. Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired and Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind), people with vision impairments and anyone who supports our call to protect payments and services for people who are blind or vision impaired. Please join us on the day.

When?

World Sight Day, Thursday, October 13.

Where?

Meet at top of Grafton Street, at the junction with St. Stephen’s Green at 10:30am. We'll begin our march at 11am sharp.

The route goes from Stephen's Green to Dawson Street. We'll turn right onto Nassau Street and right again on Kildare Street to the Dáil.

Please join us as we ask lawmakers to 'See Our View'.

If you need assistance, please contact us at Fionnuala.murphy@ncbi.ie to arrange transport and sight guides.

View Vision Week March Route in a larger map

Vision 2020

Vision 2020 is a global initiative to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness by the year 2020. The World Health Assembly passed the Vision 2020 resolution in 2003 and since then more than 120 countries have signed up. Despite the Irish Government's further endorsement of the initiative in May 2009, and despite several calls from Irish vision groups, no effort has been made to implement it here.

VISPA is calling on the government to fulfill its commitment to the development and implementation of a National Vision Strategy for Ireland in the shortest time frame.