Sinn Féin calls on Bus Éireann not to disenfranchise the disabled
Published: 3 May, 2006
Sinn Féin Cllr Pearse Doherty has called for Bus Éireann to have a rethink on the purchase of its new flight of buses after it emerged that none of their new buses would have disabled access. He said this was disenfranchising disabled people in Derry and Donegal.
Cllr Doherty said:
"It is very alarming that Bus Éireann has announced that not one of their new fleet of coaches would have disabled access. The investment of €16 million on a fleet of luxury coaches has to be welcomed and follows on from the €600,000 upgrade of the bus terminal in Letterkenny last month.
"However, the decision by Bus Éireann not to have any of its new 60 coaches fitted with disabled access is automatically disenfranchising people with disabilities and mobility problems. It also contradicts the guidelines from The Public Transport Advisory Committee to the Department of Transport who have made it clear that wheelchair accessible coaches were the norm around the world. If they carry on with this it will effectively make it more difficult for people with disabilities to move around the country and at a time when we are being told the rights of the disabled are at the fore.
"We should be making it easy for people with disabilities to travel from Derry to Donegal and Sligo in comfort, the purchase of these coaches would reverse those opportunities and run contrary to the whole equality agenda.
"Bus Éireann should have had to foresight to purchase five or six coaches with disabled access particularly for the key Derry- Dublin routes and Derry to the West Coast. This move deprives people with disabilities from enjoying the same travel opportunities as the rest of the community. I hope they will reconsider purchasing these coaches.
"It would be a sad indictment for a modern Ireland that someone with wheel chair or mobility needs, could not travel on public transport between Derry and Letterkenny or our Capital City in comfort and be treated the same as any other Citizen"
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