Also calls for major investment in inclusive education

Opposition Spokesperson on Gender Affairs, Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly, Denise Daley, MP, is calling for the immediate review of Jamaica’s Disabilities Act and significant new investment to improve accessibility, disability assessment and inclusive education.

Making her contribution to the Sectoral Debate, Daley said the legislation represented an important milestone but warned that implementation has stalled.

She noted that the Disabilities Act required a Joint Select Committee review within three years of its coming into force in February 2022. “That review should have been completed by February 2025. We are now well into 2026, yet even the committee responsible for conducting the review has not been established.”

Daley questioned how much longer persons with disabilities and their families must continue waiting. She also criticised the lack of accessibility across many public buildings, including Parliament itself. “Accessibility cannot be viewed as an option. It is a right.”

Daley proposed that the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities undertake comprehensive accessibility audits of all government buildings, with each ministry and public agency required to publish accessibility improvement plans before the end of the financial year.

She also highlighted lengthy delays in disability assessments for children, describing cases where children have lost years of educational opportunities while waiting for evaluations. “No child should lose years of learning because the system moved too slowly. Every month a child waits for assessment is another month of delayed intervention, delayed support and delayed opportunity.”

To address shortages of specialised professionals, Daley called for scholarships to encourage more Jamaicans to pursue careers in disability assessment, special education, speech therapy, occupational therapy and educational psychology.

She further proposed that at least two schools in every parish be upgraded and equipped to properly accommodate children with disabilities through specialised facilities, assistive technology and trained personnel. “No parent should be forced to travel across parish boundaries simply because suitable educational facilities do not exist closer to home.”

Concluding her presentation, Daley urged lawmakers to ensure that policy debates remain grounded in compassion and respect for human dignity. “Whether we are debating women seeking protection from violence, elderly citizens seeking security after a lifetime of service, persons with disabilities seeking equal opportunity or vulnerable migrants seeking humane treatment, our decisions must always be guided by justice, compassion and respect for human dignity.”