Beach wheelchairs lie unused in Cork as council won't approve storage

Council say say they are not willing to allow wheelchairs to be kept at the lifeguard’s hut at Inchdoney beach overnight 

A Hippo Campe beach wheelchair that is available for use at the Warren Beach, Rosscarbery, West Cork.

Two beach wheelchairs purchased in Cork thanks to a community fundraising drive last year have not been used since they were bought because there is nowhere available to store them securely overnight.

Clonakilty Camogie Club raised more than €5,000 in an online fundraising effort in 2021 to provide the wheelchairs to enable better access to Inchydoney Beach in West Cork for people with disabilities. The appeal was launched following the successful introduction of a beach wheelchair at the nearby Warren Beach in Rosscarbery.

Despite appeals from local independent councillor Paul Hayes who is currently storing the wheelchairs in his garage, officials from Cork County Council will not allow a wheelchair to be stored in the lifeguard’s hut at the beach overnight.

Cllr Hayes said: “All I am proposing at Inchydoney is that we have a similar setup as in Rosscarbery which seems to be working very well. The Inchydoney Lodge & Spa have kindly agreed to look after the booking out process.” 

According to Cork County Council planning permission would be required for a storage unit for the wheelchairs at Inchydoney and they are not willing to allow a single wheelchair to be stored in the lifeguard’s hut at the beach overnight.

Evie Evans, vice chairperson of the Clonakilty Access Group who is a wheelchair user herself said the group has raised the issue on several occasions.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. We have a similar situation with access for the local playground where keys are needed and staff often aren’t there. These beach wheelchairs are available in many other places around Europe and there is no complicated system of bookings required.

She added: “It’s not complicated really but there doesn’t seem to be the will to make it happen. If more people who were making decisions knew what it was like to try to access facilities for people with disabilities I think we would see more being done.” 

A spokesperson for Cork County told the  Irish Examiner that there are a number of matters that need to be satisfactorily addressed before the beach wheelchair can be operated.

They said that the topography would need to be suitable, local volunteers would need to be suitably trained and willing to commit to being available to provide onsite support and the wheelchair would need to be a suitable type for the location.

They added that a booking system to allow users to book in advance is also a requirement as are suitable storage facilities “with controlled access for signing in and out of the chair” as well as appropriate insurance cover for the location, attendants and users.

They added: “Cork County Council is in the process of commissioning a report for five beaches on beach access for people with limited movement. This should identify the current limitations and what improvements can be put in place to increase access.” 

Mr Hayes said: “There seems to be a bit of contradiction in what the council is saying. They just seem to be dragging their feet on this one, there are no problems at the Warren and they only seem to be putting obstacles in the way of getting the scheme up and running at Inchydoney.”