Promoting disabled rights in Buncrana

Sinn Féin Buncrana Town Councillor, Daren Lalor, believes the rights of the disabled must be a priority in the town. The town council passed a motion he proposed last week calling for an audible warning system to be fitted to the traffic lights and pedestrian crossing at West End, Buncrana to assist the visually impaired in crossing the road at the busy junction.

"Not long ago, Buncrana Town Council and Donegal County Council endorsed the Barcelona Declaration, which commits our local authorities to protect and advance the rights of disabled people," he said. "It is important that we don't fall in to the trap of paying lip service to this internationally agreed declaration. This motion was intended to demonstrate practically that our local councils are willing to begin the process of applying action to our words.

"During my canvass of Buncrana leading up to the recent local election, the issue of pedestrian crossings for the disabled and in particular those who are visually impaired came to my attention. Sinn Féin, as Irish republicans are playing a leading role in demanding equality for disadvantaged communities across the Island and I am proud to be a part of this national movement for change. I met with local families who are prevented from accessing their town by the failure to provide the necessary infrastructure in terms of pedestrian crossings, wheelchair accessible facilities, and warning systems. There are 14 visually impaired people living in Buncrana town and 120 in Inishowen as a whole. In the case of Jennifer Doherty, a remarkable and courageous young women who has learned to make her way from Ned's Point to the town via the shore road despite her blindness, it is shocking that all that is preventing her from completing her journey to the main street in complete independence is the absence of an audio warning system at the West End traffic lights. Hopefully, Donegal County Council will now act on this motion and defend Jennifer's rights."