Pictured are Rosemary Flanagan, CEO of Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), Niall Carson, General Manager of FREE NOW and Patrick Flanagan, Paralympian at the launch of ‘Access Now’, a national mobility conference hosted by FREE NOW in partnership with IWA. FREE NOW has partnered with the Irish Wheelchair Association to help address transport accessibility issues in Ireland with launch of National Mobility Conference.
The virtual conference will review the key challenges facing people with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities across Ireland when it comes to their transport needs, as well as potential solutions for the transport industry to create a more accessible transport infrastructure.
According to research conducted by FREE NOW and Irish Wheelchair Association among IWA members, 61% of those surveyed avoid public transport altogether as a result of insufficient and poor quality accessible public transport options.
Over two thirds, 67%, consider their main concern with public transport to be the lack of understanding among other passengers and drivers in relation to their accessibility challenges.
The mobility conference will bring together key leaders from the transport sector as well as disability activists to discuss accessibility issues in Ireland and explore practical solutions to help create a more accessible transport network.
Some of the key speakers include: Rosemary Keogh, CEO of IWA, Jack Kavanagh, Non-Executive Director of the National Disability Authority and Common Purpose Ireland, Patrick Flanagan, Irish Paralympics Athlete, Ray Coyne, CEO of Dublin Bus, Christabelle Feeney, Director of Employers for Change, Maeve Monaghan, CEO of NOW Group amongst others.
