Iceland’s prime minister outlines changes for disabled people

Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir says her government has made several improvements for disabled people and people receiving disability benefits, including changes to the social security system and the launch of a new disability and rehabilitation system, mbl.is reported.

She spoke in a video address to a conference organised by the ÖBÍ rights association at Harpa on Monday, marking one year since parliament incorporated the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into Icelandic law. The convention sets out rights including equal access, protection against discrimination, participation on one’s own terms and reasonable accommodation.

Asked what had improved under her government, Frostadóttir said social security pensions now rise in line with wages. This was particularly important for people receiving full or partial disability benefits who do not have the right to strike, she said, adding that the change gives them a place at the bargaining table.

She also cited a lifelong age-related supplement for people receiving disability benefits, a higher income exemption threshold for pension income and stronger protections for the rights of disabled people.

Frostadóttir said the issues extended beyond specific rights and had to be considered as part of disabled people’s broader position in society. Housing measures, strengthening the health system and building nursing homes also affected their lives, she said. The government was working towards a balanced budget, she added, saying inflation and interest rates affected everyone, whether or not they were disabled.

Frostadóttir said conversations with people who depend on the systems for which she is now responsible had influenced her. She knows people with disabilities, she said, and their experiences played a part in her decision to enter politics.

She recalled meeting a woman receiving disability benefits at the first public meeting she held as a politician in Borgarnes. The woman spoke first and has attended every meeting Frostadóttir has held in the area since.

“I always wonder how she is doing today, whether we are making her life better,” Frostadóttir said. Such stories mattered to politicians, she added, because it was easy in the job to become disconnected and think about issues only in the abstract. Politicians needed to remember that they worked for the public and should listen especially to people whose voices were less readily heard.