St Patrick's Festival to bring ‘incloosion’ to Kilkenny disabled community
Accessible toilet facilities for city centre
Everyone will be able to come into Kilkenny City and enjoy the St Patrick’s Festival in comfort and with dignity, thanks to AccessoLoo.
The fully accessible toilet facility will be located in Canal Square for the festivities.
AccessoLoo’s mission is to enable disabled people to attend any event or activity - events from which they are often excluded due to lack of adequate mobile changing places toilet facilities.
This is a special toilet facility for disabled people that has the right equipment, including: an adult changing table, ceiling hoist, lavatory, grab rails, hot and cold running water, heat and light, and, importantly, enough space for a disabled person and any companions or assistants to be able to move around freely without having to negotiate obstacles.
The Canal Square facility will be attended and cleaned after each usage during the festival.
A grant of €28,771 was awarded to the Kilkenny AccessoLoo Service under the Disability Participation and Awareness Fund, last December, for such event hire.
accessibility
For those who are not or do not know a person with complex accessibility requirements, it is also likely that they have never considered some of the obstacles faced when trying to do the most basic of activities on a daily basis, which many of others take for granted.
One such activity is personal hygiene and the use of bathroom and toilet facilities whilst out and about with their families, friends, or personal assistants.
This meant that people with mobility needs either avoided many social activities or, starved themselves of food and liquid leading up to any place or event they wanted to go to, or trying to find a private space large enough to be placed on to the floor! From this need AccessoLoos came about.
Consultation
Meanwhile, Kilkenny people are being asked for their opinions and submissions as part of public consultation on the provision of changing areas with toilets in certain large, publically accessible buildings such as hospitals, schools, shopping centres and hotels.
Minister of State for Local Government and Planning Peter Burke, TD, is seeking the views of people across Kilkenny on a proposed amendment to the Building Regulations to make provision for a changing places toilet in certain buildings.
A changing places toilet offers larger supported facilities that address the needs of people for whom current accessible sanitary accommodation is inadequate. These facilities enable people with complex care needs to take part in everyday activities such as travel, shopping, family days out or attending a sporting event.
The Department would like to hear the views of people with disabilities who use changing places toilets and the people who support them, builders, building designers and building owners.
Submissions should be emailed to [email protected] by 5pm on Thursday, May 12.