A family who attempted to use the new accessibility boardwalk at Lisfannon Beach this week could not do so due to parked cars blocking the entrance.
Aaron Daly, who is originally from Lisfannon and now lives in Dún Laoghaire, was visiting home with his daughter Sophia (20), who was born with cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user.
They were excited to use the new boardwalk, which was officially opened last month by Donegal County Council and for Sophia to enjoy the beach.
However, Aaron, who is also an advocate for Changing Places Ireland, told Donegal Daily how they were disappointed to find the entrance blocked by cars.
“I grew up in Lisfannon and my mum still lives there. We come up a few times every year.
“As Sophia gets older, it has gotten harder to find things in Inishowen that are disability friendly.
“Through my work with Changing Places, I was actually invited to the opening of the boardwalk, but, sadly, couldn’t make it.
“So, we were looking forward to going down there to see and use it. The pictures of it looked great
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“But, then we got there. First of all, we couldn’t get parked near the beach, as it was so busy,
“Then, when we eventually did, we couldn’t get on to the boardwalk as there were cars parked tightly in front of it.”
The family tried again the following day, only to meet the same situation.
They eventually managed to access it on Wednesday evening, when the beach was somewhat quieter.
Aaron added: “It is great, but it’s only about 30ft long, so you can’t go too far on to the beach. It would be nice to be able to go further in to the sand.”
Aaron suggested that a ‘no parking’ sign or disability parking spaces be erected near the boardwalk entrance.
He also outlined how the lack of Changing Places toilets in Inishowen and across Donegal has continued to impact where they visit.
Accessible Changing Places toilets have adequate facilities and space for use by people with a range of disabilities, who may require assistance.
“If there isn’t a toilet Sophia can use, we would have to change her in the back of the van.
“What we normally do now is spend time in Derry, as they have quite a lot of Changing Places toilets.
“We’d really like to be able to visit more around Inishowen and Donegal, without having to worry about where we’ll find a toilet.”
Aaron welcomed the opening of accessible toilets and a Changing Places facility in Letterkenny and said it would be very positive to see more like this opening across the county.
Donegal Daily has contacted Donegal County Council for a response.