Wheelchair users deserve respect

RECENTLY three of us travelled by train to Dublin from Cork returning the next day.

One of us is a wheelchair user and we were bowled over by how considerate and helpful all staff were.

However, the same could not be said for some of our fellow passengers. They occupied seats designated for people with disabilities. They insisted on putting their luggage in the space designated for a wheelchair.

But what completely gobsmacked us was that when asked to move to accommodate a person in a wheelchair, they either ignored the staff or just point blank refused. The porter had to try three carriages before a young man vacated his seat allowing us to board. What shocked us was that the porter had no authority to get the people to move and was depending on the passengers’ good nature to accommodate us. He was most apologetic for the lack of consideration shown to us. Amazingly, all of the culprits were in the older age group travelling on their free travel pass, one of whom verbally abused us for having been disturbed. Right or wrong, one expects some level of courtesy and respect from this generation.

In this time of recession, one would hope that people would be appreciative of this entitlement and show some degree of respect to the train staff and people who have to use wheelchairs.

Dorothy Quinlan and Rosemary Murray

Durrus Road

Schull

Co Cork