Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In fairness to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, he has quite elegantly covered many of the issues that have been raised with me in my constituency, so I will not duplicate that or cover the same ground.

An issue I wish to raise that is particularly relevant to the role of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who has responsibility for disabilities, is the need for accessibility, particularly wheelchair accessibility, at beaches throughout Ireland. I constantly make the point that something wonderful happened during lockdown - people started to flock to beaches and the coast. They found refuge on our beaches and coast and in our coves. It was amazing to see that happening. It is still happening and it will happen in the summer months while we are under existing restrictions. Unfortunately, not everybody is able to avail of the amenity that is provided by our beaches or the incredible facilities we have on our coast and our doorsteps right across the island of Ireland.

I would love for the State to fund the provision of accessibility measures, and particularly wheelchair accessibility, to beaches. Ireland is dotted with thousands of beaches, but even if we were to focus on the provision of wheelchair accessibility to the many safe Blue Flag beaches, it would change people's lives. I can testify to the fact that where wheelchair buggies are already provided, such as at the Warren beach just west of Clonakilty, they are making a significant difference. I have witnessed the absolute joy of a child at being able to go onto the beach in one of these adapted wheelchairs and head right into the water. It is an absolutely incredible thing to witness the joy that child got from being able to do so. I do not think anybody should be deprived of the ability to have that experience. I would love to see such initiatives rolled out not just at the Warren, but at beaches right across Cork and elsewhere.

We in the western division of the local authority in the area I represent are lucky to have a municipal district officer who is incredibly passionate about this issue, but she needs resources and funding to put into it. I would really love it if the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, could provide me with an update regarding where we are in terms of the provision of funding for this. Even if it is not possible to provide wheelchair buggies, she could consider the provision of decking that splays out into the beach and would, at least, give people the opportunity to have that beach experience. Something simple and small like that could change people's lives.

See this speech in context