This month's feature article:
Why Ireland is no longer a disaster for wheelchair users
Sue Patterson, County Mayo, Ireland
Did you think of visiting Ireland but were put off by the bad press on accessibility? Well all that has changed...
The two nations of Ireland - Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland (never Southern Ireland!) - are now both modern European countries. The things that used to be really bad for wheelchair users - the inaccessible or non-existent public transport, the lack of rental vans, the pre-modern roads and paths outside of Dublin, the poor building access - well, that's all changed in most places. The things that have always been good are still good - the friendly, informal, relaxed atmosphere, helpful people, the easy pace... well except for in the capital city Dublin which is a vibrant cosmopolitan place buzzing with life, quite wheelchair pedestrian friendly with good kerbs, easy-access river board-walks and bridges. There are plenty of cafes and bars with outside seating and reasonable internal access and these are becoming more and more the scene outside of Dublin as well.
Getting there.You can fly direct to Dublin or Shannon from the U.K, the U.S. and many places in Europe. You can also fly into Belfast from various U.K. and other European destinations. The airports are fully accessible and operate air-bridges on most flights.
By ferry there are several choices: from south Wales out of Pembroke (with Irish Ferries) or Fishguard (with Stenaline) to Rosslare in the south-east; From Holyhead in north Wales (Irish Ferries or Stena), Liverpool or Birkenhead (Norfolk Line) into Dublin Port or nearby Dun Laoghaire (Stena). Or you can cross from southern Scotland - Stranraer, Cairnryan or Troon - to Belfast Port or Larne on P&O Irish sea or Stena. The ferries are all accessible for foot passengers - wheelchair users are likely to need to board separately from their vehicles.
Getting around. Public transport in Dublin has been transformed by the advent of the Luas - the state-of-the-art light rail tram system which is a delight for wheelchair users. And the Dart - suburban rail system - is wheelchair friendly too. Having said that, Connelly Station, the main rail station is presently undergoing renovations that make getting onto the platforms a trial as the access to the elevators has been blocked - watch this site for an update. The newer city buses are wheelchair accessible.
Further afield. All new coaches purchased by Bus Éireann since 1990 have been specified with a "kneeling" facility which allows the front of the coach to be lowered to provide easier access and all newer bus stations meet accessibility specifications. Bus Éireann have commenced the purchase of Inter-City Coaches with wheelchair lifts as part of its replacement programme. The Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005 envisages that the entire scheduled service coach fleet in Ireland will have been replaced by wheelchair accessible coaches by 2015. In the meantime call Bus Éireann ahead to check. Local and long-distance trains are equipped with ramps - you have to advise ahead when and where you are travelling. Contact information is on the Irish Rail website.
Other transport. you can expect to find a reasonable wheelchair taxi service in Dublin and other cities and large towns. At last it is possible to hire a van with a hoist and also hand-controlled vehicles and your vehicle can be delivered to the airport for you - so no longer any need to pick one up in mainland U.K and pay for the ferry! - but it may still be a good idea to do this if you are touring around Europe.
We have yet to check on theatres and cinemas. Shops are mainly good, but we hope to be able to provide more information on these in future.
Food. Traditionally the pub (and there are many of them!) has been the place for a casual meal (including a roast meal with three veg in the middle of the day) and a cuppa, as well as for the other stuff. Pub food generally offers good value for money. And almost anyway, in the smallest most out of the way place, a bar lady is prepared to knock up a few wonderfully fresh ham sandwiches for the traveller in a hurry.
But there are now coffee shops as well as pubs and the cafe-bar culture has certainly arrived in the larger centres in Ireland. Plenty to choose from in Dublin, and good restaurants too. Restaurants are more likely to present access challenges if they are in old buildings - they themselves may be up a flight of stairs and the toilets are often up or down In the restaurants and cafe-bars continential and Asian cuisine has displaced the old meat-with-overcooked-veg syndrome, so you are just as likely to find excellent gourmet cooking in Ireland as anywhere else. Fresh fish is a speciality in many places and is well worth ordering!
Other access issues. Many other towns and cities in Ireland have vastly improved their kerbing and building access. Roads and pedestrian footpaths are vastly better in recent years due to a huge influx of EU funding. Heritage sites such as Newgrange, Clonmacnoise and Giants Causeway have been upgraded, though don't expect to get off the main paths in a wheelchair in these places. Public toilets are still far too scarce - real downside of travelling in the Republic - but you will find them in all towns in Northern Ireland, and newer buildings in the republic, including supermarkets which are a good bet, invariably have disabled loos. MacDonalds is always a good standby.
Accommodation - there are accessible self-catering cottages in the greater-Dublin area. A scattering elsewhere. The best bet generally is hotels as most B&Bs do not cater for wheelchair users (if you know of any, please let us know!) - and B&B parking can be non-existent or a nightmare in Dublin. Jurys and Bewleys hotel chains are reasonably priced and generally cater well for wheelchair users. Travelodges offer a no-frills but reliable standard and have disabled rooms at all locations.
Activities and tours. Ireland is bursting with history and wonderful scenery but accessible tours are about non-existent. We are able to do a customised itinerary, or you may want to do it yourself. There is a centre in Meath that specialises in fishing holidays for disabled people and the Share Centre on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh (NI) is a wonderful activity centrefor holidays with disabled children. As I said, heritage sites are mainly good but expect to have trouble with historical buildings. Their surroundings and information centres will be fine and some of them have wonderful walled gardens and walks that are accessible - Glenveagh and Kylemore, for example.
Taking a launch on the Liffey or a canal houseboat on the Shannon-Erne Waterway ought to be possible but don't hold your breath! - we will check this one out. Watch this space.
Even quite modest ancient sites may be amazingly accessible if you can manage a gravel or grass path. The main obstacle to all this is a lack of centralised, organised information. Each county has information about its attractions and how to find them, but may not mention access. So if you are doing it yourself there will be trial and error, but also interested, helpful people wherever you go.
