Letter to Mr.Peter Hynes Westport Town Council

Mr Peter Hynes
Town Manager
Westport Town Council

11th July 2005


Dear Peter,

I am writing to you in relation to the Barcelona Declaration concerning disabilities. As you know I have attended meetings organised by Mr Simon Wall in relation to car parking spaces in the town.

However it has been several months since the last meeting and several follow ups to the last meeting have not taken place even now. I was promised at the last meeting that the Town Engineer would accompany Elsie Higgins and myself around town to conduct a "snag" list of necessary action. I am disapointed that this has not yet happened.

I am also concerned with the layout, position, surface condition, access and signage in relation to several of the new and old disabled car parking spaces in the town and I would like to raise these issues, but again, there has not been a follow up meeting to allow me to do so.

Recently I have been assisting Ballina Town Council with the setting up of their Barcelona Committee to oversee their town's compliance with the declaration and I would respectfully suggest that Westport Town Council now form a committee to meet regularly and formally to address the town's disability needs.

I would also request to be a member of such a committee as I am qualified and willing to assist Westport in becoming a better place for all those with disabilities. I have noted that such a committee has been mooted on several occasions but that as yet nothing has happened. As the declaration is nearly 10 years old I think it is time Westport formalised its committment to disabilities.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely


Tom Chambers

Letter to Manager of Leisure Centre Westport

Mr. Dermot Langan
Manager
Westport Leisure Park
James Street
Westport
Co. Mayo.
01 03 05
Dear Dermot,

I want to thank you for your prompt reply and for my delay in getting back to you.

Westport Leisure Park is an excellent asset for the people of Westport and my only aim is to ensure that it is accessible to all.

With regard to the problems with the disabled toilets I would like to make the following observations.
The toilet was built to accommodate wheelchairs and the disabled however modifications to the toilet since then mean that it is no longer accessible to those in wheelchairs.
The original complaint was made to me as a host of the Special Olympics. The athlete in question did not feel it was appropriate to raise a complaint in light of the wonderful hospitality accorded to the athletes by your centre. Instead he mentioned it quietly to me and I have checked it out myself and as qualified and experienced Access Officer I can tell you that as it is at present the toilet is not up to standard. A small amount of work will put this right.
The situation with the lift is the big problem. You have dismantled your other lift as it is not up to the job and I must ask you on behalf of the disabled to purchase and fit one that is capable of lifting adults in and out of the pool. I will be happy to lobby with you for funding to make this happen.
The reception desk counter is very high for someone in a wheelchair and I would ask that you lower a section of it.
I would be happy to chat with you about any of the above matters to see what we can do together to make your centre into a totally accessible resource for the Westport area. I am happy to advise you on any other access related matters anytime.

Please feel free to contact me anytime and I look forward to hearing from you shortly.


Sincerely

____________
Tom Chambers
Access Officer
Disability Campaigner
“The Billy Ranch”
Newport
Co. Mayo

Leisure Centre, Westport, Co. Mayo

Mr. Dermot Langan
Manager
Westport Leisure Park
James Street
Westport
Co. Mayo.
01 03 05
Dear Dermot,

I want to thank you for your prompt reply and for my delay in getting back to you.

Westport Leisure Park is an excellent asset for the people of Westport and my only aim is to ensure that it is accessible to all.

With regard to the problems with the disabled toilets I would like to make the following observations.
The toilet was built to accommodate wheelchairs and the disabled however modifications to the toilet since then mean that it is no longer accessible to those in wheelchairs.
The original complaint was made to me as a host of the Special Olympics. The athlete in question did not feel it was appropriate to raise a complaint in light of the wonderful hospitality accorded to the athletes by your centre. Instead he mentioned it quietly to me and I have checked it out myself and as qualified and experienced Access Officer I can tell you that as it is at present the toilet is not up to standard. A small amount of work will put this right.
The situation with the lift is the big problem. You have dismantled your other lift as it is not up to the job and I must ask you on behalf of the disabled to purchase and fit one that is capable of lifting adults in and out of the pool. I will be happy to lobby with you for funding to make this happen.
The reception desk counter is very high for someone in a wheelchair and I would ask that you lower a section of it.
I would be happy to chat with you about any of the above matters to see what we can do together to make your centre into a totally accessible resource for the Westport area. I am happy to advise you on any other access related matters anytime.

Please feel free to contact me anytime and I look forward to hearing from you shortly.


Sincerely

____________
Tom Chambers
Access Officer
Disability Campaigner
“The Billy Ranch”
Newport
Co. Mayo

Tom's letter of protest handed to Bertie

Mr Bertie Ahern T.D.
An Taoiseach
Department of the Taoiseach
Upper Merrion Street
DUBLIN 2

Friday, 07 September ‘02

Dear Taoiseach,
I am writing to you to complain about the state of the medical services in this county.
I myself am wheelchair bound. I this morning, rang Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, County Mayo.
I asked to speak to my Community Care Dietician, to be to told that there is no longer a dietician working out of the hospital.
Also, I find it very difficult to get six weeks physiotherapy, something that is essential to the likes of myself. I find it difficult to get the treatment and care that I require.
The country is awash with money. Your spokespersons are advising that everything is wonderful, the economy is booming we are not short of nothing. Yet, when a person, such as myself, go looking for the most basic of services in hospitals etc., we are never able to get them.
Taoiseach, I am submitting this letter of protest to explain, that I, as a member of the general public am very dissatisfied with the level of service available, and am appalled at the way that persons in my position are treated.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Chambers.
"The Billy Ranch"
Knocknageeha
Newport
Co. Mayo

Newspaper report on disability in Westport

Here is a story the Western People newspaper ran about Disability recently.

Disability access initiatives welcomed by activist
DISABILITY Campaigner Tom Chambers says he is delighted to have been informed by Andrea Lynch Lyncare Ltd of Tipperary that the company proposes to install a portable hoist in the Westport Leisure Park following their successful competition for the contract. He said he is also very happy to learn that the centre on James St is also examining the possibility of a similar hoist for the centre’s Jacuzzi pool.

Mr Chambers serves on the Westport Disability Access committee which is based in the Family Resource Centre on Mill St.

According to Mr Chambers there is a very warm welcome among the disabled community for the granting of permission to An Post for the provision of a ramp at Westport Post Office. The Post Office is currently inaccessible to those in wheelchairs due to the steps at its entrance. Mr Chambers says that An Post is to be complemented for the initiative they have shown and that Westport Town Council’s decision to grant permission was to be commended. Mr Chambers wished to thank Westport Town Council for their provision of a ramp at the entrance to the Family Resource Centre which greatly improved the accessibility of the building.

Mayo Man delivers demands on disability to Strasbourg Parliament

Click here to download a report of my trip to Strasbourg to lobby the European Parliment to improve access in the EU.Mayo Man delivers demands on disability to Strasbourg Parliament
Mayo Man delivers demands on disability to Strasbourg Parliament

A Momentary lapse in concentration and in the blink of an eye the course of Newport man Tom Chambers, life changed forever.
In the second it takes for the mind to slip without permission from consciousness into a half -sleep, Tom, behind the wheel of his car was sent careering off the road, stopped by a head on collision by a wall. He was found five hours later by the man whose wall he crashed into.
That was March 30th 1989,and that moment cost tom the use of his legs for the rest of his life. The many months of rehabilitation, of coming to terms with what happened and suddenly being faced with learning to live a whole new life-that all seems along, long time ago now. But it has started tom on a new and very different course in life ,one which has led him all the way to the doors of Strasbourg to hand deliver a list of demands, seeking action ,rather than words ,on the issue of rights for people with disabilities.
Last month, Tom joined 47 other Irish people as the single Mayo representative on the Strasbourg Freedom Drive 2007. This is the third time people with disabilities from all over Europe have come together to have their voices heard by meeting with M E Ps and submitting a list of demands.
Representing the centre of Independent living, Mayo, Tom’s own journey to Strasbourg involved a 3,000 kilometre round trip on a specially adapted bus. Flying anywhere, he says, has become harder and harder and the last time he took a flight his hip and ankle were so badly damaged that it took months to recover and his wheelchair went missing for over an hour on arrival at the other side. For Tom, this only highlights all the more just how important it is to get to Strasbourg and meet with the members of the European Parliament and try to influence future Europeans policy on disability.
As part of the three day drive campaigners from elgium,Bulgaria,France,Germany,Ireland,Italy,Norway,spain,Sweden and the U K. met with Mr Richard Howitt, M E P, and president of the European Independent Living Intergroup, to hand over a list of their demands.
Access to personal assistant services, which is absolutely vital if people with disabilities are to maintain an independent lifestyle, featured strongly. in Mayo alone, there are over 60 people on a waiting list for P A services, say’s Tom, and even when services are provided they can be limited. “living with a disability is seven days a week ,including Bank Holidays, ”he explains “and services need to reflect this.”
Another issue close to toms heart is that of proper access for people with disabilities
Our streetscapes .and buildings need to be designed using common sense ,he says there is little or no point in providing disabled parking space if the curb is so high that it cannot be accessed by a wheelchair user getting out of a car, he points out as a example of where policy makers are falling down because they are not applying simple common sense.
“Local representatives are failing people with disabilities“. he explains.
“all you have to do is ask someone who is living with a disability. It should be a given that they are the best people to tell you exactly what needs to be done and how best to do it.
“for such a rich Country, Ireland has failed people with disabilities. This is our third trip to Strasbourg and we shouldn’t have to go there .disability is never going to fade or go away.
It will always be an issue and we will keep returning to Strasbourg until we are listened to”

Footpaths in newport are not up to scratch!

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