Disability campaigners are watching Clare as councillors across Ireland have been tabling motions calling for the appointment of a dedicated Access & Inclusion Officer in their local authority.
Last month Irish Wheelchair Association started a disability access campaign to improve access to local services and amenities for people with disabilities and mobility issues. The campaign highlighted that 81% of local authorities do not have a dedicated Access Officer appointed to make public services and amenities more accessible.
Clare councillors are among representatives from 23 out of 25 county councils, that have reached out to Irish Wheelchair Association to support the organisation’s call for a local Access & Inclusion Officer. It is hoped councillors will pass a motion calling for the appointment of a dedicated Access & Inclusion Officer in their local authority at the next monthly meeting.
“We have been very encouraged by the support we have had from individual local councillors in Clare and around Ireland,” according to Rosaleen Lally, IWA’s National Access Programme Manager. “We know that people with disabilities cannot use many public buildings, paths, pedestrian crossings, bus stops, train stations, parks and beaches etc. in our communities across Ireland,” said Rosaleen. “Every local authority in Ireland should have a dedicated Access & Inclusion Officer in their organisation to focus on solving some of these problems. Already 23 local authorities have been supportive of our campaign and have committed to bring the motion to their next council meeting.”
County Councils in ten counties have already passed the motion to support the campaign, Waterford, Sligo, Longford, Mayo, Kerry, Kilkenny, Carlow, Cavan, Galway, and Tipperary. IWA members are hoping Clare County Council will join them in the coming weeks.
This month Louth County Council appointed its first Access and Inclusion Officer becoming one of only 4 counties in Ireland that has a dedicated Access and Inclusion Officer position in its local authority, alongside Westmeath, Wexford and Dublin local authorities. “It’s really encouraging to see what we can achieve for people with disabilities in our community when we work together and we are hopeful for progress in Clare in the coming weeks” says Rosaleen Lally.
For more information www.iwa.ie/accessnojoke