Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA)

Lobbying Organisation Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA)

Date published 21 Jan, 2016

Relevant Matter Matters involving public funds

Public Policy Area Local Government

Period 1 Sep, 2015 to 31 Dec, 2015

Specific Details Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), approached Athlone Municipal District Council and asked local Councillors to participate in an Accessibility Awareness Campaign to highlight the access issues which people with disabilities living in Athlone face on a regular basis when visiting Athlone Town.

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 Athlone Town with a view that local Councillors would actively plan to resolve the problems and make the necessary changes to ensure that Athlone Town is made more accessible for people with disabilities.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Monica McGowan Hughes, IWA Service Coordinator Athlone

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? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (2-5)

On behalf of IWA, Monica McGowan Hughes 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 Athlone Town. The event took place in August 2015, and Mayor of Athlone, Frankie Keena, Cllr Tom Farrell, Cllr Kevin Moran and Cllr John Dolan participated in the Accessibility Awareness Day.

Meeting (1)

As a result of the Accessibility Awareness Day, the local councillors invited IWA to present the findings from the initiative and to inform Athlone Municipal District Council of the access issues impacting on the lives of people with disabilities living in Athlone and the surrounding areas. On behalf of the Association, Monica McGowan Hughes presented the findings to the Council and requested that the access issues throughout Athlone Town 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.

Tom Farrell Councillor (Westmeath County Council)

Frankie Keena Councillor (Westmeath County Council)

Kevin Moran Councillor (Westmeath County Council)

John Dolan Councillor (Westmeath County Council)