A59521 DDAI SteeringWheel23 - Flipbook - Page 15
2024-2026 STRATEGY
1
Advocacy and
Public Awareness
Overall Objective
Improve the lives of DDAI members through
increased advocacy and public awareness.
Personal Transport is an enabler for people
with disabilities in particular as many of their
transport issues cannot be solved by public
transport. It is a critical time for personal
transport for people with disabilities as existing
supports are under pressure. The Mobility
Allowance and Motorised Grant have been
suspended to new entrants for over a decade.
The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers
Tax Relief Scheme has been declared unfit for
purpose by a recent Government report. General
Government policy is away from personal
transport to public transport and from fossil
fuel to Electric Vehicles for which people with a
disabilities do not have the same supports.
Objective: To strengthen the DDAI’s capacity to
inform and influence at national and local level
in order to improve awareness around the needs
for personal transport supports.
Specific Actions:
•
Develop a proactive media/social media plan
to influence public and political opinion.
•
Increase engagement at national and local
government level on behalf of members on
issues that impact on their lives.
Improve the lives
of DDAI members
through increased
advocacy and
public awareness.
Parking Provision
As we can see from our role as administrators
of the EU parking permit scheme, the number of
permit holders has doubled in the last decade.
However, the number of public spaces has not
increased at the same accessible pace. In fact,
adequate accessible parking provision has been
under pressure from pedestrianisation, outdoor
dining and restrictions to town centres. The lack
of provision has been exacerbated by the degree
to which accessible spaces are misused and low
levels of enforcement, particularly in relation to
counterfeit and expired permits.
Objective: To improve parking provision.
Specific Actions:
•
Increase public awareness on, and
knowledge of, the wider impact of having
a disability in Ireland, especially in relation
to accessing public and private accessible
parking spaces.
•
Continue to develop awareness campaigns
to highlight the misuse of both disabled
parking bays and the EU Parking Permit.
2
Member Experiences
and Service
Overall Objective
Improve DDAI member interaction and develop
DDAI services.
