QUESTIONNAIRE ITALY
EBU Questionnaire Survey on the situation of blind and partially sighted
people
across the 27 EU Member States
September 2007
Name: Rodolfo CATTANI
Organisation: Italian Union of the
Blind and Partially Sighted
Country: Italy
e-mail address:
inter@uiciechi.it
Telephone number: +39 06 69988 375/388
1/ Benefits
1.1. Does your country have any form of benefits system/ allowance for
blind or partially sighted people?
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Yes
1.2. If yes, is this allowance sufficient or does it need to be
increased ?
Needs to be increased
2/ Transport / Mobility
2.1. Does your country provide blind and partially sighted people with
any form of assistance for access to public transportation?
Yes
2.2. If yes, in what form?
2.2.1. Facilities allowing a better accessibility of public transport for blind and partially sighted people:
2.2.2. Financial aid:
2.2.3. If yes, is this assistance available :
At reduced cost.
Free of charge.
Other (please explain).
Don’t know.
2.3. Are there any measures facilitating the mobility of blind of
partially sighted people?
Yes
2.3.1 If yes, are they:
Financing of guide dogs.
Tactile paving.
Provision of auditory means of communication.
Provision of auditory signals at crosswalks.
Other / Don’t know.
2.4. Concerning accessibility / transport in general, what suggestions
for improvement do you have?
Improve the quality of existing services. Avoid that liberalisation/privatisation
of services jeopardize services for disabled people.
3/ Employment
3.1. Are private companies under any obligation to recruit a certain
number of disabled people?
Yes
3.2. Are some jobs reserved in priority for:
3.2.1. Disabled people?
3.2.2. Blind or partially sighted people?
3.3. Are there any targeted wage subsidies or bonus for employers who
recruit blind and partially sighted people?
Bonus.
Targeted wage
subsidies.
Other (explanation):
Reasonable accommodation measures, tax exemption,
only recently – rarely – financial incentives
Don’t know.
3.4. Does your country have sheltered workshops or any other kind of
structure employing only blind and partially sighted people?
No
3.5. Are there any other incentives in your country to facilitate blind
and partially sighted people’s employment?
Yes
3.6. What is the situation with regard to the employment of blind and
partially sighted women:
Under-employment.
Yes
Discrimination in recruitment.
No
Discrimination in wages.
No
Don’t know.
3.7. Concerning employment in general, what kind of suggestion for
improvement do you have?
Ensure employment stability for blind and partially
sighted people. Increased number of jobs available. Broaden and enhance the
provision of incentives for employers.
4/ Education
4.1. Does your country have specialized schools for blind of partially
sighted children?
Yes
4.2. Is it possible for blind of partially sighted children to attend
mainstream schools?
Yes
4.2.1. If yes, are there any support services for blind and partially sighted children?
Provision of books in Braille.
Provision of Braille writing devices.
Provision of adapted electronic devices.
Support by specially trained teachers.
Other (please explain).
Don’t know.
4.3. Can blind or partially sighted students at university benefit from
some form of financial aid to purchase an adapted computer?
Yes
4.4. With regard to education in general, what kind of suggestions for
improvement do you have?
Enhance the professional level of support teachers.
Ensure the full availability of didactic and support devices at all levels.
Promote the recognition of the specific status and needs of blind and
partially sighted learners.
5. REHABILITATION CENTRES FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE
5.1. Does your country have any rehabilitation centre for blind or
partially sighted people?
Yes
5.2. Concerning rehabilitation centres, what suggestions for improvement
do you have?
Increase the number of centres.
Yes
Improve existing centres.
Yes
Increase the capacity of the centre.
Yes
Improve the training of staff (auxiliary nursing staff,
special education teacher …)
Yes
Modernise the methods of rehabilitation to daily life.
No
Modernise professional training.
No
Other (please explain).
Don’t know.
5.3. Have you noted any progress in these areas?
No
5.3.1. If no, did you notice a decline in the quality of the rehabilitation measures for blind and partially sighted people?
6/ VOCATIONAL TRAINING
6.1. Does your country have a specialized vocational training centre for
employed or unemployed blind and partially sighted people?
Yes
6.2. Can blind or partially sighted employed or unemployed people attend
mainstream vocational training centres?
No
6.3. If yes, are there any support services for the blind and partially
sighted?
Provision of books in Braille.
Provision of Braille writing devices.
Provision of adapted electronic devices.
Support by specially trained teachers.
Other (please explain).
Don’t know.
6.4. Have these measures been adopted since your country’s accession to
the EU or did they exist before?
Don’t know
6.5. With regard to vocational training in general, what kind of
suggestions for improvement do you have?
Improve the overall quality of professional
training.
7. ACCESSIBILITY OF ICTs
7.1. Is it possible to obtain support for ICTs for blind people of all age categories:
At school.
Yes
At university.
Yes
At work.
Yes
At home.
Yes
What kind of support ? (Please explain)
What kind of support ? Please explain: Blind people are
entitled to receive some hardware and software free of charge for
professional and personal use. These products are included in an official
directory approved by the Ministry of Health. Funding is provided by the
National Health Service.
7.2. Is it possible to obtain support for ICTs for partially sighted people
of all age categories ?
At school.
Yes
At university.
Yes
At work.
Yes
At home.
Yes
What kind of support ? (Please explain)
Partially sighted people are entitled to receive some
hardware and software free of charge for professional and personal use.
These products are included in an official directory approved by the
Ministry of Health. Funding is provided by the National Health Service.
8/ E-GOVERNMENT
8.1. How do you evaluate the accessibility of public websites
(E-government; documents, forum, services, interactive pages, etc.)
Very good.
Good.
Medium.
Bad.
Very bad.
(Please explain):
Accessibility of websites and services is not
yet at a minimum acceptable level
8.2. Is your government doing anything to make E-government websites
accessible to blind and partially sighted people?
Yes
(Please explain):
TSome experimental initiatives are under way but they
are few and limited in scope.
9/ EU INFLUENCE
9. Do you think that the EU has had a positive influence on the situation of
blind and partially sighted people in your country ?
Other
(Please explain):
Very limited indeed and practically imperceptible by
the man in the street.
10/ Finally, do you have any expectation with regard to your country’s
belonging to the EU?
10. Do you have expectations with regard to:
Employment.
Yes
Education.
Yes
Vocational training.
Yes
Rehabilitation centres.
Yes
Transport / mobility.
Yes
Accessibility of buildings and traffic lanes.
Yes
Access to information (accessibility of ICTs)
Yes
Financial support.
Yes
Gender equality.
Yes
Other (please explain)