Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We discussed the public realm and spoke about it earlier. After the first lockdown was lifted, I put a question to Cork City Council on the pedestrianisation of streets. It was brilliant and fabulous for some of the streets. It got businesses open again and people out. I think people started to forget where we were in the lockdowns and how tough it was for people. However, there were a number of disabled parking spaces moved. It was like an ordinary parking space was painted and the symbol was applied. There was one activist, namely, Eddie Hennessy, who is a friend of mine and who had a stroke and has limited mobility. He made a point that those parking spaces, like many others, are not really disabled parking spaces. They are just parking spaces that have been painted.

That, obviously, is not a Cork city issue. Disabled parking spaces and meeting the proper criteria must be an issue nationally. I get the train up to Dublin most days. In Kent Station there is a disabled parking spot with a rim around out so a person can open the door to get out his or her wheelchair. How big a problem is disabled parking for people with wheelchairs? Mr. Dolan made the point that he felt it got worse during the pandemic. Is it the same in relation to the public realm with disabled parking accessibility? Does Ms Carthy wish to answer?