The Disability Discrimination Act came into effect in 1995. It has been amended a number of times since by regulations implemented in Northern Ireland. The DDA only applies to Northern Ireland. The DDA was replaced with the Equality Act 2010 in England, Scotland and Wales. The information on this page only relates to Northern Ireland.
The DDA is a law to protect anyone with a disability. The DDA defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. This includes significant sight loss.
The types of discrimination it can help you challenge are:
- direct discrimination (such as a ban on employing blind people)
- disability related discrimination (for example, a taxi driver refusing to take a blind passenger because they have a guide dog)
- failure by an organisation to make a reasonable adjustment to allow you access to goods, facilities and services
- victimisation
- harassment.