A long-term wheelchair user from Co. Cavan gave a presentation to Cavan County Council this week. Bridget Boyle is also chairperson of the Cavan Disability Network. During her presentation she highlighted some simple measures which can be easily adopted to make sure people with disabilities are not excluded from daily Cavan life. She told the assembled councillors that people with disabilities - those with the lived experience - are best placed to advise on accessibility policy and planning.
In the last census, 20 per cent of people in Cavan reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition to some extent. Bridget also reminded the council that accessibility is also an issue for the increasingly ageing population, carers and groups like parents with buggies. The Cootehill advocate also said local businesses and other service providers could be more aware of the needs of disabled persons.
"We're never going to have a completely accessible environment," Bridget told Northern Sound, "but, it's about working with what we have and being inventive on how we can make our buildings, our service and information more accessible because, y'know people with disabilities have spending power as have any other sector of our society, I think that is forgotten."
