Costello congratulates Irish Wheelchair Association on their 50th birthday
Posted on September 08, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Deputy Joe Costello, Labour Spokesperson on Transport, today warmly congratulated the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) on its fiftieth birthday. The group was founded in 1960 by a small group of wheelchair users committed to improving the lives of people with physical disabilities in Ireland.
Deputy Costello said: “As we celebrate with them we should be cognizant of the fact that there is still some way to go before people with disabilities have their full entitlements as citizens of this country.
“To take one example in the transport area, only 6% of Dublin’s taxi stock is wheelchair accessible compared to 100/% in London. Moreover serious concerns have been raised about the state of the current wheelchair accessible fleet especially in terms of their ramp and entry/exit facilities.
“At the moment there are just 1,535 wheelchair taxis out of 26,483 active SPSV licenses in the country according to the Taxi Regulator. Given the cost of buying a wheelchair accessible vehicle (€40,000 plus) and the current dire economic conditions in the taxi industry, it is highly unlikely that there will be any improvement in the foreseeable future.
“While progress has been made with the bus and rail fleet there is still a shortage of space on the buses for more than one wheelchair at a time. At peak times in particular it is very difficult for wheelchair users to access public transport,
“People with disabilities must also be enabled to participate fully in society. Yet current legislation does not recognise the right of disabled people to a similar standard of living as could reasonably be expected by any other citizen of the State. Our disability legislation creates no entitlements other than an entitlement to be assessed as to one's needs and it places no obligation on the State to meet those needs.
“The failure of the State to deliver for the disabled makes the huge strides made by the Irish Wheelchair Association in the past 50 years even more outstanding. I know the Association will continue to play an important role for the next 50 years. We must ensure that the serious gaps in service for the disabled are addressed by the Government as a priority.”
