Dublin City Councillor Kevin Breen has criticised the council’s response to concerns about disabled parking provision across North Dublin.
The independent councillor said that Dublin City Council’s response was a “box-ticking exercise” that failed to address the real issues facing people with mobility challenges.
At this month’s North Central Area Committee meeting, Breen tabled a motion calling for a comprehensive review of disabled parking provision across the area, highlighting concerns that many existing bays are poorly designed, unsafe, inaccessible or simply insufficient to meet demand.
However, the official response focused on the process for residents applying for individual disabled parking bays.
Speaking after the meeting, Breen said the response “completely missed the point.”
“My motion wasn’t asking how somebody applies for a disabled parking bay. Everybody knows that process already exists,” he said.
“What I was asking was whether Dublin City Council is prepared to acknowledge that there are deficiencies in disabled parking provision across the Northside and commit resources to fixing them.”
The Clontarf councillor said that too many disabled parking bays are treated as a compliance exercise rather than an accessibility measure designed around the needs of users.
“We need to stop measuring success by whether a disabled parking bay exists on a map. The real question is whether it is safe, accessible and fit for purpose for the people who rely on it.”
“Many of these spaces were installed years ago. Some are poorly located, some are difficult to access, and in many areas there simply aren’t enough of them.”
During the debate, Breen called on fellow councillors to support a more strategic approach to disabled parking and send a clear message to council management that accessibility must be prioritised.
“People with mobility issues should not be an afterthought. They should not have to fight for basic access to their communities.”
“The Northside deserves a proper review of disabled parking provision. We need to identify where the gaps are, where designs are failing users, and where additional investment is required,” he said.
Councillors subsequently backed the motion, supporting calls for a review of existing disabled parking provision and improvements where deficiencies are identified.
“This is about dignity, independence and equal access,” Breen said.
“We cannot continue with a box-ticking approach. If we are serious about accessibility, then we need to ensure disabled parking provision actually works for the people it is intended to serve.”