Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA)

Lobbying Organisation Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA)

Date published 20 May, 2016

Relevant Matter Matters involving public funds

Public Policy Area Local Government

Period 1 Jan, 2016 to 30 Apr, 2016

Specific Details Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) approached Westmeath County Council and asked local Councillors to participate in an Accessibility Awareness Campaign to highlight the access issues which people with disabilities living in Mullingar face on a regular basis.

Intended results From a lack of adequate public transport, the poor state of footpaths, obstacles on footpaths, inaccessible buildings and the misuse of Disabled Parking Bays the aim of the campaign was to raise awareness about access issues in Mullingar with a view that local Councillors would actively plan to resolve the problems and make the necessary changes to ensure that Mullingar is made more accessible for people with disabilities.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Hugh Farrell, IWA Regional Manager, Arthur Dunne IWA Coordinator Mullingar, Barry Reid, IWA Support Officer

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? Yes

What is the directive you gave to the grassroots campaigners? On behalf of IWA, Arthur Dunne, ROC Coordinator Mullingar, wrote to four local councillors inviting them to participate in an access awareness day which would highlight the various access issues people with physical disabilities encounter when visiting Mullingar. The event took place in February 2016, and four local councillors, Avril Whitney, Peter Burke, Sorca Clarke and Una D’arcy participated in the Accessibility Awareness Day.

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Meeting (1)

As a result of the Accessibility Awareness Day, the four local councillors who participated in the initiative invited IWA to present the findings from the Awareness Day and to inform Westmeath County Council of the access issues impacting on the lives of people with disabilities living in Mullingar. On behalf of the Association, Hugh Farrell, IWA Regional Manager, Arthur Dunne IWA ROC Service Coordinator and Barry Reid Support Officer presented the findings to the Mullingar Municipal Council and requested that the access issues throughout Mullingar would be addressed by the Council and were possible that necessary changes would be introduced.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Avril Whitney Councillor (Westmeath County Council)

Peter Burke Councillor (Westmeath County Council)

Sorca Clarke Councillor (Westmeath County Council)

Una D'Arcy Councillor (Westmeath County Council)