North Dublin locals have been left outraged and worried for the future of wheelchair users, parents with buggies this summer.
‘Access for All Ireland” activists are calling for a more accessible Dublin, particularly fighting against a set of gates that lock out locals in need.
The ‘kissing gates’ in Drumcondra stand as a social barrier, not allowing people using wheelchairs or parents with buggies to enter.
Bernard Mulvany, a People Before Profit representative for Dublin Bay North is a full time carer and disability rights activist.
He believes that most Drumcondra locals might not realise the daily difficulties that the kissing gates create.
“I think so many people would pass the gate and not realise.”
He goes onto explain that the gates are usually only found in disadvantaged areas of Dublin and are meant to stop anti-social behaviour.
But instead “they create barriers for people with disabilities".
Bernard’s 11-year old daughter along with countless others “could never negotiate the kissing gates.”
Seán Kelly has been a disability rights activist since 2016. He knows all too well the difficulties that wheelchair users face in Dublin.
Séan was determined to create change after being stranded at Clontarf DART station as a result of a faulty lift.
“I was in that experience, I was stranded”, he remembers.
The 28-year-old man is now forced to avoid city centre at all costs.
High curbs, limited parking spaces and cycling lanes mean that grabbing a coffee with friends is almost impossible.
While many may be enjoying the newly pedestrianised streets, it seems that "the outdoor summer is geared towards the able bodied".
