Council plan for disability access to all public areas

NO public place is to be out of bounds for people with disabilities under an ambitious plan by one county’s local authorities to ensure every publicly owned site and service within its boundaries is accessible.

The joint project by the county and urban councils in County Clare will audit 54 towns and villages and will review access to every public building, car park, amenity area, beach, playground, pier, public toilet, landfill site, fire station, library, road, footpath, pedestrian crossing and burial ground.

A series of public consultations begins next week at different locations around the country. County engineer, Tom Carey, said it was hoped to complete the audit by the end of April.

“Once the audit is completed, all information will be captured on a tailor-made and practical web-enabled database system,” he explained. “This system will be capable of generating reports which will detail the remedial actions to be undertaken and we look forward to implementing the resulting plans.”

Disability campaigners welcomed the move by the local authorities who are the first to respond in this way to responsibilities set out in the Disability Act. “It’s really good to hear what they are planning. Hopefully we will see an awful lot more local authorities follow suit,” said Angela Kerins, chairwoman of the National Disability Authority.

“I would urge people with disabilities and disability organisations to get along to the consultation meetings and ensure that the best possible outcomes are achieved.”