Disablity access constitutional right?

Hello everyone.

In yesterday's budget it was announced that there will be less money for disablity access.

My question refers to existing access, etc. Can anyone advise me what I have to do to get footpaths clear for my wheelchair. Today when going to work I encountered two sets of ladders where people were painting large buildings. No one helped me to get off the footpath when I had to try to get out on the road. I then had a problem on how to get back up on the footpath. Surely this to ilegal and dangerous. One group were irish, another group seemed to have no english.

Am I wrong when I suggest these painters who were professionals should have some method in place for wheelchair users to get off the footpath when the footpath was blocked. Have the health and safety authority any obligation here, it was a workplace, .

Or am I wrong, should i just give up and draw job seekers etc. I have worked for years, I dont have to work as i have mobility problems,

My boss was furious when i mentioned it to him, he wanted to report it to gardai etc. While we get on great I asked him not to as maybe the painters had a bad day. He did offer to drive me to work each day, but i do live nearby and like to travel there myself, I also have the keys etc so can open up early and ensure all is open in case anyone is late.

Your views please re the blocked footpath.

Thanks

Presumably it is as dangerous for able-bodied persons then too in the circumstances you outlined? I do think that they have to, by law, erect at least a cordon for passers-by and in some cases overheard protection. I would also be sure that they have to make this accessible to all but I doubt your chances of a successful legal action or complaint to the Gardai - at most, the Guards will tell the Builders to do something when they can - and thats it.

Agreed - you don't have to work. My car broke down the other day and I had to travel by (the horror!) public transport. I'm not unsympathetic and clearly you should have been helped, but ... ...

greengrass64 said:

Am I wrong when I suggest these painters who were professionals should have some method in place for wheelchair users to get off the footpath when the footpath was blocked. Have the health and safety authority any obligation here, it was a workplace, .

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On this you're not wrong. The Construction regulations of 2006 have clear standards for obstructing any public footpath, within this consideration for those with a disability is clearly stated. In addition, the HSA published a detailed guidance document on work alongside roads.

However, not to defend the employees involved, this provisions is on version 3 at the moment and has seen a few ammendents to make it more practicable, so the final version is still new to most.

Still if it does pose a problem, the Guards may not be the best option, you can contact the HSA's Workplace Contact Unit and report it there. They may ask for your details, but these are never passed on to the company involved.

Thanks for the replies everyone

You've had some good suggestions so far. Let me add a few more.

1) Take pictures of the obstructions with your mobile phone, and send the pictures off with your emailed complaints. A picture paints a thousand words, and will help your complaint to stand out.

2) Involve your local authority. They have an 'access officer' appointed to support people with disabilities, so this person might be a good first point of contact. Get them to involve the Building Control Officer to get things sorted.

To get this resolved permanently, you'll need to get the local planners to include conditions about keeping the paths clear as a planning condition when planning permission is granted. This won't be easy, but would make a big difference. Get onto your local councillors, the Director of Planning, the Access Officer and local disability groups. Get onto the local newspaper - they might send someone out to take a picture of you being forced off the pavement, or get someone else to take a picture and send it into them. Get onto Joe Duffy, ideally when you at the blocked path.

Best of luck.

Lets just keep a sense of proportionality on this. I'm not excusing the actions of the painters and indeed any others who obstruct others whether it's on the footpath or road but just lets keep this realistic. OP was this an isolated incident re the painters? I mean were they painting the building and obstructing the footpath only on this particular morning you were making your way to work? If it was (& I suspect so) then what "Complainer" posted means nothing really. If it's continuous then of course bring it to the attention of the appropriate people.

Look we all get inconvenienced by others every day particularly in congested areas and at rush hour times etc. and I appreciate OP your angle re your mobility problems and I have no doubt this is a serious issue for you and will continue to be so long as there are thick and ignorant people out there on our paths and roads.

Complainer your user name is apt. Fair play. I think youre far-fetched and re the Joe Duffy suggestion, that's something I tell people to do if they whinge at me....i.e tell Joe Duffy about it, he'll listen to ya.

McCrack said:

Lets just keep a sense of proportionality on this. I'm not excusing the actions of the painters and indeed any others who obstruct others whether it's on the footpath or road but just lets keep this realistic. OP was this an isolated incident re the painters? I mean were they painting the building and obstructing the footpath only on this particular morning you were making your way to work? If it was (& I suspect so) then what "Complainer" posted means nothing really. If it's continuous then of course bring it to the attention of the appropriate people.

Look we all get inconvenienced by others every day particularly in congested areas and at rush hour times etc. and I appreciate OP your angle re your mobility problems and I have no doubt this is a serious issue for you and will continue to be so long as there are thick and ignorant people out there on our paths and roads.

Complainer your user name is apt. Fair play. I think youre far-fetched and re the Joe Duffy suggestion, that's something I tell people to do if they whinge at me....i.e tell Joe Duffy about it, he'll listen to ya.

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You're missing several points.

This is not a matter of inconvenience. A blocked kerb with no dishing to allow a wheelchair user to get down is not an inconvenience. In many cases, it is effectively an insurmountable barrier, equivalent to say having a 4' wall built across the path. Yes, you can probably climb over the wall (though you might damage your clothing or gear), but you can be sure that your granny can't climb over it, and your 6 year old can't climb over it. If you have to reverse to find the next dished section, you may will find yourself out on the road with motor traffic, unable to look over your shoulder, taking your life into your hands. Obstructions like this are also very dangerous to people with vision impairments.

My recommendation of addressing the route cause through planning conditions has nothing to do with whether this particular 'inconvenience' is an isolated incident or not. These kind of obstructions happen all the time, whether with ladders, scaffolding, skips etc. There is no good reason for these blockages, other than lack of consideration and planning. Getting this addressed with planning conditions will force the developers to take this issue serious and gives the OP immediate redress through the council planning enforcement.

As for the Joe Duffy angle, it's not one I take much pleasure in, but it is effective. After a couple of days of whinging to Joe about the violence in Tipperary town which had been ignored by the guards, he had a major operation with helicopters and armed gardai. It works, pretty or not.

Thanks everyone for the replies.