Disabled people from across Europe gather in Dublin for High-Level Conference on Assistive Technology and Accessible Digital Technology

Disabled people from across Europe will gather in Dublin this week to explore how digital and assistive technology can support their participation, independence and inclusion in all aspects of life.

Assistive technology encompasses a wide range of products to support people in their daily activities and participation in society. It includes glasses, hearing aids, subtitles, communications boards, screen readers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, hoists, and pill organisers.

Disabled people from across Europe will be joined by senior political leaders, researchers and industry representatives at the two-day High-Level Conference on Assistive Technology and Accessible Digital Technology – Empowering Participation.

This Conference will also showcase digital and assistive technologies across a number of areas including personal mobility, vision, hearing, communication and accessibility. It is being hosted by Ireland as part of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union,

Examples of projects on display include a wheelchair that utilizes ‘eyegaze’ technology to provide better mobility for young people with disabilities. This project is being delivered by the Central Remedial Clinic and supported by a €75,000 grant from the HSE’s Cooperative Real Engagement for Assistive Technology Enhancement (CREATE) fund. Rehab Group will be showcasing assistive technologies that support disabled and autistic jobseekers to explore career opportunities and pursue their employment goals, including Virtual Reality (VR) Career Exploration tools and Personal Support Apps for smartwatches and phones. This project has received €125,000 from the HSE’s Create fund.

Opening the Conference, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:

“Innovation in assistive technologies is moving at a remarkable pace, with developments in both mainstream and specialised technology providing potentially life-changing and transformative opportunities for disabled people. As these technologies develop and improve, ensuring equitable access to them is becoming an increasingly important challenge.

Today’s Conference will be a forum to consider how best Europe can support this innovation, improve access, and ensure assistive technology delivers real and positive impact for all who rely on it, now and in the future.”

Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley said:

“Assistive technology can be transformative in people’s lives. A student with dyslexia can use text-to-speech software to aid their learning. An older adult might rely on a walking aid to maintain independence. Assistive technology allows people to participate fully in their communities, including engaging in education, employment and social and cultural activities.

As Europe looks towards 2030, we must continue to strengthen cooperation, support innovation and ensure that the voices and lived experiences of disabled people remain at the centre of policy development in this area.

By working together, we can help build a more inclusive Europe where technology enables everyone to participate and thrive”

Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Emer Higgins said:

“This Conference explores assistive technology through a number of different prisms, not simply as a product or service, but also as an enabler of rights, inclusion and participation.

The solutions required to ensure that assistive technology is accessible, affordable and available to those who need it across Europe will require innovation, ambition and collaboration.

Most importantly, these solutions must be grounded in the lived experience of those who use these technologies every day.”

Across two days of discussion, participants will examine the role of assistive technology in supporting education, employment, communication, mobility, independent living and community participation. Delegates will also explore the opportunities and challenges facing the European market, including affordability, innovation and access.

The discussions at this Conference are taking place against the backdrop of wider European efforts to strengthen competitiveness through greater equality and inclusion. On October 19th, 2026, the Council of the European Union, under the Irish Presidency, agreed Council Conclusions which call on the European Commission and Member States to do more to promote equal treatment and remove barriers to labour-market participation through measures such as affordable assistive technologies. Furthermore, on May 6th, 2026, the European Commission adopted the Communication “Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030” as announced in the Commission Work Programme. This Strategy includes a flagship initiative ‘Assistive Technologies and AI: from lab to market’ to promote better knowledge and strengthen the single market for assistive technologies and AI applications. The aim is to identify and remove bottlenecks that prevent disabled people from benefiting from accessible and affordable technologies.

The conference forms part of an ongoing programme of work by Ireland to promote innovation and access to Digital and Assistive Technology. This work will continue with the Global Expo 2027, organised in cooperation with the WHO, which will take place 24-25 February 2027.

Assistive technology is an umbrella term for assistive products and their related systems and services. Assistive products help maintain or improve an individual’s functioning related to cognition, communication, hearing, mobility, self-care and vision, thus enabling their health, well-being, inclusion and participation.

The current government schemes to support assistive technology include the following:

• The Department of Children, Disabilty and Equality’s Access and Inclusion Model for children with disabilities in early years education
• The HSE’s Aids and Appliances scheme
• The Department of Housing’s Housing Adaption Grants
• The Department of Social Protection’s Work and Access scheme
• The Department of Education’s Assistive Technology Grant
• The Department of Further and Higher Education’s Fund for Students with Disabilities
• The HSE’s Cooperative Real Engagement for Assistive Technology Enhancement (CREATE) fund
• The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme provides tax relief for purchase of vehicles
• VAT refunds on eligible assistive products, such as hoists, communication devices, and mobility aids.
• Zero VAT on wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetics etc
• Globally, more than 2.5 billion people need one or more assistive products, relying on them to live independently, stay connected, and participate fully in daily life. The WHO and UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology (GReAT), launched in 2022, highlights that this number is expected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2050. This rise reflects longer lives and increasing rates of noncommunicable diseases.
• The High-Level Conference on Assistive Technology and Accessible Digital Technology – Empowering Participation will take place at the Convention Centre Dublin on 22-23 October 2026.
• The Conference will bring together representatives from EU Member States, European institutions, disabled persons’ organisations, civil society organisations, researchers, industry representatives and disabled people.

Discussions will be guided by four key objectives:

On 6 May 2026, the European Commission adopted the Communication “Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030” as announced in the Commission Work Programme. This Strategy includes a flagship initiative to promote better knowledge and strengthen the single market for assistive technologies and AI applications. The aim is to identify and remove bottlenecks that prevent disabled people from benefiting from accessible and affordable technologies.

The discussions at this Conference are taking place against the backdrop of wider European efforts to strengthen competitiveness through greater equality and inclusion. On October 19th, 2026, the Council of the European Union called on the Commission and Member States to do more to promote equal treatment and remove barriers to labour-market participation through measures such as affordable assistive technologies.

Global Expo 2027:

The HSE Cooperative Real Engagement for Assistive Technology Enhancement (CREATE ) initiative have provided three rounds of funding to different projects which support disabled people to participate across society.