Dublin City Council is delighted to announce the launch of new wheelchair-friendly beach mats at Dollymount Strand. The beach mats will provide wheelchair users and scooter users with greater access to the North Bull Island Nature Reserve and beach areas.
The specially designed beach mats extend 125 metres onto the beach from the end of Causeway Road and will afford wheelchair and scooter users greater mobility on the sand.
The trial of the beach mats comes after a recommendation from the North Bull Island Oversight Forum to improve accessibility for beachgoers with additional mobility requirements, both on the nature reserve and its 5km beach. It is anticipated, subject to use and demand, that the mats will be extended further along the beach in future years.
Speaking at the launch of the Beach Mats, Lord Mayor, Councillor Alison Gilliland said, “I wholeheartedly welcome the addition of this important resource here on Dollymount Strand, at the heart of Dublin Bay Biosphere. Accessibility and inclusion should be at the heart of all our policies, and Dublin City Council is committed to making Dublin and its amenities more accessible for its citizens, particularly those with additional mobility needs.”
The Beach Mats are just the latest initiative supported by Dublin City Council’s Parks Department to improve accessibility at local leisure facilities. The new mats will complement the existing beach mobility resources at the North Bull Island, such as the free beach wheelchair rental service. The two types of beach-safe wheelchairs available, DeBug and Hippocampe, can be rented between 10am and 6pm, seven days a week, during the bathing season of 1st of June – 15th of September.
Resources like these and the Beach Mats demonstrate Dublin City Council’s commitment to making the city and its amenities more accessible and enjoyable for all citizens.
Source: Dublin City Council
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