Disabled 'will be able to use new transport system'

The new €34.4bn transport system unveiled for Ireland will be fully accessible to disabled people, Minister of State Ivor Callely pledged today.

And he hit out at the negative response to the 10-year plan by opposition parties, insisting the plan had been well received by stakeholders and would come in on time.

“We recognise that we’ve had, as we promised in 1997, a new era of prosperity in Ireland.

“We’re now in a financial position to invest in transport, and we hope this will be as successful as the economy has been,” he said.

“Yesterday’s plan is a totally new plan – certainly there are items contained in the plan that were contained in the Dublin Transportation Office’s platform for change – but on top of that we recognise that rail is by far the best way of accommodating large capacity movements,” he said.

“We’ve got to address the transport issue and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

Mr Callely said he was disappointed with the negative response from opponents, and said the Government had managed to deliver many projects on time in the past.

Speaking at the National Disability Authority’s (NDA) launch of their guidelines for public transport operators, he said all of the new developments contained in the plan had provisions for disabled people.

“A lot of services were inaccessible and that’s totally unacceptable. Everything we’re doing now is fully accessible.

“The provision of accessible transport is an essential pre-requisite of full participation of everyday activities by people with disabilities.

“If you do not have transport you can’t even challenge for the right to participate in the full richness of life,” he said.

The Minister of State said the Luas had been designed from the beginning to be fully accessible for people with disabilities and the new Cork rail development would see all new stations and carriages incorporating wheelchair access.

And he said there had been significant improvements since 2000 for people with disabilities in all areas of public transport.

The NDA’s guidelines cover ways of overcoming the physical barriers to travel, such as access to bus and light rail vehicles, stops and stations.

They also include disability awareness training, ways of providing information and improving customer relations, and policies to help disabled people in an emergency.

Launching the guidelines, NDA chairwoman Angela Kerins said accessible transport was a key requirement to allow people to participate in work and leisure activities.

“The recommendations are based on the principle of ‘Transport for All’ which focuses on the experience of a journey, from the provision of information that is accessible, the accessibility of vehicles and buildings, to disability awareness training for staff, and consultation and communication with people with disabilities,” she said.