On Friday 30 September, the Galway Disability Forum invited its members to join them in marking Make Way Day 2022.

‘Make Way Day’ is a national campaign run by the Disability Federation of Ireland who collaborate across Ireland and the voluntary and local government sectors. The campaign brings the disability and wider community together to consider the needs of people with disabilities in the public spaces we all share.

Everyone was encouraged to get involved, especially as DFI have discovered that most barriers occur due to thoughtlessness.

The Day is a friendly reminder that:

– Cars parked on footpaths…

– Bicycles illegally parked…

– Bins left on footpaths…

….All block the way and create barriers for people.

Make Way Day 2022 in Loughrea, Co. Galway. The Galway Disability Forum, were joined by Members of An Garda Síochána who are responsible for enforcing the rules around parking permits, along with Traffic Wardens. Pictured from left to right: Inspector Brian Boland, Charlotte May- Galway County PPN, Peter Gohery and Una Ní Threasaigh from the Galway Disability Forum and Sergeant Joe Dunleavy

So, on Friday 30th September, obstacles that block the way and complicate the lives of people with disabilities 365 days of the year were highlighted in Loughrea and Portumna.

This year, the Galway Disability Forum chose to highlight  the misuse of disabled parking spaces as its focus for the campaign. This was based on a survey carried out by Galway County Council to find out what the priorities were regarding the removal of physical barriers to participation in community life.  It emerged that misuse of disabled parking spaces is a major issue and the Council has since been collaborating with the Galway Disability Forum, which is part of Galway County PPN, to highlight how this impacts on people with disabilities on a daily basis. This campaign was accompanied by a series of radio ads on Galway Bay FM featuring the voices of people with disabilities to raise awareness in the lead up to Make Way Day.

Make Way Day 2022 in Portumna. The Galway Disability Forum were joined by Councillors Ivan Canning and Jimmy McClearn and by Lisa Fewick from DFI, as well as a group of activists from St Dympna’s Day Service in Portumna.