Autism organisations facing fines for parking in disabled bays - Donegal News

ORGANISATIONS working with people with autism have received tickets for parking in disabled bays, it has been claimed.

That is according to Cllr Fionán Bradley, who has called on Donegal County Council to introduce autism-friendly and age-friendly parking spaces across the county.

The Inishowen councillor shared that the idea behind his motion came from a recent visit to Malahide and Swords in the Fingal district of north county Dublin.

“The council there provides age-friendly parking within the town centres at various locations,” he explained at the July plenary council meeting.

“So I made enquiries about it and I was very interested to find out that this is an initiative Fingal [Council] did off its own bat.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor continued: “Not everybody who is elderly has a blue badge for disabled parking.

“Plenty of people are elderly and maybe just mightn’t be quite as mobile as they once were, or might have other infirmities and they could avail of this type of parking.”

Cllr Bradley said he has also been contacted by families and local organisations, including iCARE in Buncrana, in relation to parking spaces for people with autism.

He cited a response from the Irish Wheelchair Association, which stated that people with autism are not entitled to blue badges for disabled spaces as these are normally reserved for people with a physical disability.

“It can be a big task for families and for organisations, like iCARE for example, to take their children and young adults to a shop, for a medical appointment, to any location within a town if they cannot get parked in an appropriate place or if they have to park very far away,” said Cllr Bradley.

“In some cases, these young children are flight risks, or maybe if they have a sensory overload when they’re in the place that they’re going, they need to be able to get out of the place very quickly and get back to their car or back to safety so that the child or young person can regulate.”

He added: “I actually do know a number of organisations like iCARE who have parked in disabled bays and have ended up getting parking tickets because they didn’t have a blue badge user, but they definitely absolutely did have children and young adults who did need that space or a space like it.”

As part of his motion, Cllr Bradley requested a review of disabled parking bays in Donegal and said he had spoken with a wheelchair user in the Inishowen area who has experienced accessibility issues.

“He has a van that opens up at the back and a ramp folds out from it,” said Cllr Bradley.

“He parks in the disabled bay legitimately and then another car or vehicle comes and parks in the space behind him – also very legitimately.

“The problem being that when that gentleman comes back to his van, because a car is parked behind him, he can’t open the door and can’t let the ramp down, so therefore he can’t get in.”

The official council response to the motion reads: “The Roads and Transportation Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) considered the issue of accessible parking at its meeting in May of this year.

“The SPC considered an overview of the legislative framework that supports designated ‘blue badge’ parking spaces and the best practice in relation to provision. The SPC also considered the additional voluntary forms of accessible parking provision that exist in some areas.

“The SPC concluded that the Council should in the first instance, following an audit on the location and distribution of ‘blue badge’ spaces, undertake a programme of improvements to this form of accessible parking provision in the county before considering rolling out any further voluntary accessible parking provision.”

Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription. Any time | Any place | Anywhere