A UTV report on the problems faced by those with
disabilities in terms of access and mobility around Northern Ireland. A
wheelchair user is seen struggling to get up onto a kerb and is then
interviewed about the problems facing those in wheelchairs. She also speaks of
the differing needs of those who are visually impaired and hard of hearing, as
well as what types of signage and announcements in public places are required.
The reporter sets out how the forerunner to then-current
Northern Ireland Council on Disability set up an Access Committee to involve
planners, architects and those with differing physical requirements to try and
improve things. On the day of the report the government had just announced a
20% increase in funding for the committee.
There is also a demonstration of Northern Ireland Railways' new measures at Belfast's Central Station, where ramps and a lift has been provided for wheelchair users from the car park, with public pay phones lowered in height to make them easier to reach for those in a wheelchair. While praising these new measures, the interviewee suggests that legislation may be better than relying on the goodwill of individual companies.