Sligo Disabled Person's Organisation - DPO

21/02/2026

Here is the full text of Cara McHugh's Sligo Weekender article:

Sligo Disabled Persons Organisation highlight inaccessibility around
town in a plea to address public funding.

19th of February 2026
By Cara McHugh

The Sligo Disabled Persons Organisation recently carried out a trip around highlighting regularly blocked footpaths and issues with inaccessibility. The Public Relations officer for the Organisation Pippa Black spoke to the Sligo Weekender about the longstanding issue of the environment in Sligo that is not conductive for disabled people.

The recent trip centred disabled parking bays, accessibility at certain businesses and places around town. The organisation thanked probationary Garda Eunice for coming out and
seeing these areas for herself with some members of the organisation as she will be preparing her findings to her superintendent.

They highlighted the importance of keeping footpaths clear from obstruction including obstacles like the planters on O Connell Street that they say block the drivers view of people like wheelchair users who are looking to cross.

Ms Black said the council have since agreed that they will remove these planters and replace them with smaller ones to assist everyone’s needs.

Another issue that the organisation highlighted is the importance of being able to hear the traffic which they say is currently prevented by allowing people to busk close to crossing
points.

This also brought up another issue as the organisation believes there needs to be different tones where two crossing points are within hearing distance from each other.

Ms Black says that there are two crossings near the Glasshouse hotel that should have different tones so one can distinguish between the two.

The organisation said that there needs to be a tactile pavement where the Wine Street Car park exits on to John Street, as this currently is not a route that wheelchair users can adequately travel on. [This was a misunderstanding. The tactile paving would be to make the placce where car cross the footpath so that guide dogs would stop there to make sure the way was clear]

The organisation underscored the importance of policing traffic flow to stop vehicles stopping in box junctions or over pedestrian crossings and when they were on this outing, a prime example was made as one vehicle parked across the dropped kerb on a corner at a crossing point right in front of them.

“We had a big chat about accessible parking bays with examples of some that had no corresponding dropped kerb, dropped kerbs that were too narrow and situated where the eligible vehicle itself would be obliged to block it, and poles marking the parking spot that
block the operation of a roofbox that contains a wheelchair” they said.

They also describe “cases where the access point between the park and the vehicle is on a dangerously steep incline”, as these are problems that disabled people should not have to encounter.

Another issue that has arisen is the clamping of vehicles that do not have the authority to park in an accessible parking bay. Ms Black says that this leaves the parking bay occupied for a long time while someone waits to be un-clamped. She said there needs to be an
alternative penalty for this offence as she currently describes it as “counter-productive”.

Ms Black said that they also encounter issues with signposts within a parking bay, and that a disabled person’s vehicle cannot fully operate with this sign post in the way.

She urges the council to strongly engage with The Disabled Person’s Organisation before they go ahead with accessible initiatives, as she believes it is “much cheaper” this way so
that the council don’t have to re-do projects.

Nonetheless, she did acknowledge that “Sligo is way ahead of other places” as there is an active disability committee in which The Sligo Disabled Person’s Organisation has five members. She said that there are not many other County Councils that have this social
model approach.

She believes that “there are a lot of things to be done, but there is a will there to do it”.

At the county council meeting last week on February 9th, Sinn Féín’s Aurthur Gibbons proposed a motion to the council that asked the local authority to write to the NTA to ascertain when the infrastructure will be put in place for permanent bus stops along all bus routes throughout the county in order to allow wheelchair users full accessibility.

Councillor Gibbons said to council that “there are a number of these temporary bus stops throughout the whole county. A number of disabled people, especially wheelchair users, can’t currently access the buses here”, he said.

He cited the S3 Maugheraboy route, as currently the bus has a ramp but it stops at places where the ramp is either too high or too low, so this in turn means that wheelchair users cannot access the bus.

Cathaoirleach Dónal Gilroy clarified that all the new bus stops will be accessible where possible, he said, but if there is no footpath as is the case for a lot of rural stops, they will not be able to be taken by wheelchair users. “It’s not always possible”, he said to council, “And we just have to accept that”.

Pippa Black said that The Sligo Disabled Person’s Organisation currently has over 70 members, and are very open to introducing more too. Anyone looking to be involved should contact SligoDPO@gmail.com.

19/02/2026

Hot off the press, ILMI's eBulletin:

ILMI eBulletin 19th of February 2025

In this issue:
ILMI Meeting with Minister Norma Foley
Cost of Disability
DPO Network Meeting with Minister Emer Higgins
Dublin DPO Launch at the Mansion House

Click the link: https://mailchi.mp/a20867debbfb/ilmi-ebulletin-2nd-of-october-14768460?e=[UNIQID]


IMAGE: swirls of paint and text detailed in post

19/02/2026

This was a really excellent session. Nothing hits closer to home than struggling to make ends meet. The extra cost of living we experience as disabled people must be addressed to bring about true equality.

Cost of Disability

IMAGE: Zoom screenshot of over 30 participants

On 17 February, ILMI’s Damien Walshe and Claire Kenny presented a short presentation on the strategic focus network and the cost of disability Summit, which the Department of Social Protection is leading. The summit will assist in the creation of the cost-of-disability scheme.

The meeting began with an introduction to strategic focus networks. And about the planned upcoming cost of disability summit.

It is important to ILMI, as a disabled persons’ organisation, that disabled people’s voices and expertise must be central to every stage of shaping this scheme. This begins with being at the table, co-designing a fully inclusive cost-of-disability summit with an agenda that addresses key topics – issues important to us as disabled people. Members highlighted key issues, including inaccessible language and formats, mistrust from past consultations, and a need for more accessible information from the department and for ways to work with us to address these concerns. While also contributing to what topics we feel are important to cover as part of the agenda.

We look forward to engaging with the department to ensure meaningful engagement with disabled people through their DPOs, such as ILMI, so that the Summit is fully inclusive and accessible to all disabled people who want to take part and thus ensuring that the cost-of-disability scheme has a meaningful impact on the lives of disabled people, promoting a more equal and inclusive society.
Thank you to all who attended the discussion, and we look forward to you joining us for another discussion, which will take place on Tuesday, 3 March, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm (Disabled People only) , email michaelseifu@ilmi.ie to register, where we will explore questions such as what measures could be taken by all Government Departments to address the additional costs that Disabled People face and how these measures are embedded to ensure choice and control for Disabled People. Nothing about us without us

19/02/2026

A big thank you to the Sligo Weekender for covering our walkabout last week on page 10 of today's issue.

If anyone is confused about the tactile paving issue for John Street, there was obviously a bit of confusion from our own post about the walkabout. Tactile paving is for blind and visually impaired people. It marks a transition from a footpath to a roadway. The Wine Street Car Park exit on to John Street, is very dangerous for pedestrians in general. If it was marked with tactile paving at least guide dogs would stop and make sure the footpath was safe.

We will provide a transcript of the article once it is yesterday's news. For today, please show our appreciation to Cara McHugh and the Sligo Weekender by purchasing a copy. You can get it for €2.49 on the Pressreader App or from your newsagent for €3.

16/02/2026

It's always nice to look across the water and see the social model approach in operation in Wales too :-)

😒 Medical model says:
“You can’t do this job because of your condition.”

💬 Social model says:
“We need to remove barriers and provide adjustments so you can thrive here.”

Disabled people are not the problem, inaccessible systems are.

Learn how to remove barriers in the workplace with our Social Model Toolkit: https://www.disabilitywales.org/resources/

Image description: A medical model based quote with a strikethrough says "You can't do this job because of your condition." Underneath is the Social Model alternative which says "We need to remove barriers and provide adjustments so you can thrive here." Below is text that says Disabled people are not the problem, inaccessible systems are. DW's logo is in the top right corner.

16/02/2026

There is a great wrap up here of 6 months of chatting about what happens when disabled people get older or older people acquire impairments. DPOs need to actively engage with organisations for older people to bring about change.

Ageism and ableism

We had our last session with the group discussing the intersection between ageism and ableism on Wednesday January 28th.

We recapped our previous discussions noting that there is nothing about growing older or having an impairment that intrinsically makes us vulnerable. Instead, we live in an ageist and ableist system that vulnerabilises us. While we have a right under the UN convention for the rights of disabled people to live where and with whom we choose, this right is not routinely extended to older people. Added to this, in some areas we lose access to disability-based supports at retirement age. And, in areas where we retain the hours we have, we are not able to have those hours increased. This is compounded by a widespread confusion about the difference between personal assistance (PA) and home help. We acknowledged the work ILMI is already doing towards addressing this. It is PA hours that we need to honour our right to live independently and be included in our communities. The lack of consideration of older disabled people in the new National Human Rights strategy for disabled people does not give us any confidence that the independent living pillar promises will not be delivered in an ageist way. The group was very appreciative that we have had a space to discuss these issues and begin to form strategies. There is a clear need for Disabled Persons Organisations to engage with Older Persons Organisations in solidarity and to resist the ableist overtones implicit in active / healthy aging narratives. Rather than seeing impairment as a spectre, Older Persons' Organisations could be supported to see it as a path to access the same rights we enjoy as disabled people, particularly the rights to independent living, access and healthcare.

IMAGE; Zoom screenshot of group

16/02/2026

We are very excited to see a national arts DPO coming together that is building on the awesome work DaDa has already done:

The Disability Arts DPO Da Da held a very well attended second workshop to continue developing its constitution ahead of adoption at the AGM in May 2026. The session was full of great ideas, creativity and thoughtful discussion, reflecting the energy and vision of disabled artists coming together to shape their own organisation. Members explored how the constitution can protect disabled-led decision making, ensure inclusion across all impairments, and build a strong collective voice for disability arts. Developing this foundation is vital so that the DPO grows as a space where disabled people lead, create and influence arts policy on our own terms.

IMAGE: Zoom screenshot of group

16/02/2026

Don't miss the latest news from ILMI:

What’s inside the latest ILMI eBulletin? A whole lot of disabled-led action 💥

📍 Cork DPO
Cork DPO members came together in person at the Cork Association for the Deaf to set priorities for 2026. It was energetic, honest and grounded in lived experience. Members spoke clearly about frustration with performative consultation where nothing changes and committed to challenging tokenism wherever it shows up. Disabled people travelled from across East and North Cork to take part, despite ongoing transport barriers.
Want to join? corkdpo26@gmail.com 087 7189237

🎨 Disability Arts DPO DaDa
The second constitutional workshop ahead of the May 2026 AGM was packed with creativity, vision and strong debate. Disabled artists are building a solid foundation for a DPO that protects disabled-led decision making, ensures inclusion across impairments and strengthens our collective voice in arts policy. This is about shaping the future of disability arts on our own terms.

🩺 Disabled Women’s Healthcare: Moving from Listening to Action
The third Women’s Health Action Plan presents a critical opportunity. Despite new menopause clinics, perinatal supports, IVF access and free HRT, Disabled Women still face physical barriers, short appointments, inaccessible information and bias in healthcare settings. Real change means designing services with Disabled Women, not for us. Accessibility is a legal right. Disabled Women are rights holders. The time for action is now.

🏠 ILMI Housing Network
Our Housing Network welcomed Peter Kearns for the first of two disability equality training workshops. The session explored disability as a social and political issue, not a medical problem, unpacking labels, institutions and systemic barriers. Through discussion and lived experience, members strengthened their rights-based analysis and leadership for housing advocacy. Next session: 17 February.

Plus details of our "Cost of Disability Consultation" the Dublin DPO launch at the Mansion House and our social online coffee morning "Elevenses"

This is what collective action looks like. Local organising. National policy influence. Disabled people leading.

Read the full eBulletin and stay connected, click this link:
https://mailchi.mp/7f8298d7ea8c/ilmi-ebulletin-2nd-of-october-14768300?e=[UNIQID]

Happy Valentine's day from everyone on the ILMI Team.

❤️❤️❤️💘

IMAGE: red poster with hearts and text that reads "ILMI eBulletin the 12th of Feb 2026"

16/02/2026

TOMORROW from 3 pm, online: don't miss this opportunity to have your say about how the state should implement supports that address the extra cost of living disabled people experience. Email michaelseifu@ilmi.ie for a Zoom link

Let’s talk about addressing the cost of disability.

The need to tackle the cost of disability has long been recognised by disabled people and DPOs. That urgency is now reflected in the Programme for Government 2025 and the Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025 to 2030. Article 28 of the UN CRPD also clearly sets out our right to an adequate standard of living and social protection.

The Department of Social Protection is leading the development of a cost of disability scheme and has launched a consultative process. ILMI strongly believes disabled people must be central at every stage of shaping this scheme. Our lived experience is not optional. It is essential.

We want to hear from you. Across two collective discussion sessions, we will focus on two key areas. First, what the upcoming DSP National Strategic Framework Summit on Cost of Disability is about and how disabled people’s lived experience should be reflected in it. Second, how a cost of disability scheme should be designed so it has a real and meaningful impact on disabled people’s lives.

We will explore questions such as who should receive a cost of disability payment, how often it should be paid, and how it supports choice and independent living. Facilitators will share guiding questions in advance.

The first session takes place on Tuesday 17 February at 3 pm and will focus on the structure and content of the DSP National Strategic Framework Summit. A second session will then examine the structure of the cost of disability scheme itself.

To register and get the Zoom link, email michaelseifu@ilmi.ie

IMAGE: poster with text of date time and purpose all detailed above

12/02/2026

A big thank you to probationary garda Eunice for coming out on a walk about with us today.

We highlighted the importance of keeping footpaths clear from obstructions including obstacles like the planters on O'Connell Street that block the drivers view of little people or wheelchair users, who are looking to cross; The importance of being able to hear the traffic which is prevented by allowing people to busk close to crossing points; The need to have different tones where two crossing points are hearing distance from each other; The need for tactile pavement where the Wine Street Car park exits on to John Street; The importance of policing traffic flow to stop vehicles stopping in box junctions or over pedestrian crossings or, as one vehicle did right in front of us, parking across the dropped kerb on a corner at a crossing point.

We had a big chat about accessible parking bays with examples of some that had no corresponding dropped kerb, dropped kerbs that were too narrow and situated where the eligible vehicle itself would be obliged to block it, and poles marking the parking spot that block the operation of a roofbox that contains a wheelchair and cases where the access point between the park and the vehicle is on a dangerously steep incline. Not all of these photos are bad examples, some of them are good :) The last one was where a step prevented us from all going in for a cuppa at the end of our walk.

For image descriptions see the captions for each photo

11/02/2026

Today Sligo DPO had a workshop discussion with the team from the STRIDE Progamme. STRIDE stands for Smart Rural Innovation Driven Empowerment. The aim of the programme is to find digital or computer based solutions to issues. Our discussion was around sharing documents with members and finding different document formats that are as accessible as possible for all our members to engage. We looked at what works well and what doesnt work and so on .

We look forward to continuing to work with the team from STRIDE . Thank you to the STRIDE team and to eveyone who participated and gave their opinions. If you are a disabled person in Sligo aged 16 or over and would like to find out more about Sligo DPO or are interested in becoming a member please email sligodpo@gmail.com or phone or message Aisling on 0870978534.

Image descriptions are in the captions for each photo.

07/02/2026

The Independent Living Movement Ireland recently ran disability equality training for DPO reps on Housing and Disability Steering Committees. Working from a social model approach means advocating for systemic change.

The ILMI Housing Network was joined on Thursday the 5th of February by Peter Kearns, ILMI DPO Development Officer, who delivered the first of two workshop sessions on disability equality training.

The workshop introduced disability as a social, rather than purely medical, concept, clearly distinguishing between impairments and the social and environmental barriers that restrict participation. It explored the historical roots of impairment labels and institutions, highlighting how economic and social forces created segregation and reinforced exclusion. Lived experience stories were used to examine issues of independence and interdependence, stigma, visibility, and the importance of peer support and Disabled Persons’ Organisations.

Through group discussions and interactive activities, participants looked at how labels shape life chances and how attitudes and environments can be changed. The workshop framed disability groups as rights based political actors rather than charity cases, acknowledged the intersection of disability with other identities, and emphasised the importance of clear, social model definitions to inform advocacy, legislation, outreach, and leadership development.

We look forward to the next session on 17 February, and thanks to everyone who attended.



IMAGE: Zoom screenshot of session