Cllr Maria Dollard adds her support to calls for a fully accessible Changing Place Toilet for teens / adults in the Abbey Quarter develop

At present, Kilkenny does not have a Changing Places Toilet

Cllr Maria Dollard adds her support to calls for a fully accessible Changing Place Toilet for teens / adults and carers who need to change incontinence pads to be included in the Abbey Quarter development.

Maria says she was spurred on by the appeal of Fiona O’Neill, herself a family carer at the Special Purpose Committee last Friday. ‘I listened to Fiona explain the need for adults and teens to have a space, with a hoist and an adjustable changing table, where their carers have adequate space to change incontinence pads and I knew I had to help follow this up.’

Maria got straight on to her Green Party colleague, Malcolm Noonan, who told her that the Department of Housing has already set up a working group of relevant stakeholders, including the advocate group Changing Places Ireland, to examine the provision of Changing Places Toilets in certain buildings.

’ I was surprised and delighted to hear that the working group had met twice already’ says Maria ‘and I have asked Malcolm for an update on the work of the group to date. I will feed this on to Fiona and the other members of the SPC when I have it.’

Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State in the Department of Housing, is responsible for committing the Department to the setting up the working group when Deputy Steven Matthews, Green Party TD for Wicklow, brought the need for Changing Places to his attention in the Dáil in October 2020.

At present, Kilkenny does not have a Changing Places Toilet although MacDonagh Junction has a step-down facility with all the features of a Changing Place without a hoist.

‘We have a great opportunity here to be progressive by including a full Changing Place Toilet in the Abbey Quarter Development’, says Maria ‘ There is no reason why adults and teens should be limited in where they can visit due to the lack of toilet facilities and I will pursue this at both the national and local level’.

For more information on Changing Places see https://changingplaces.ie/

< Older Post Newer Post >

Legislation to Cap Excess Profits for Energy Companies

By Maria Dollard • September 4, 2023

New bill to combat high electricity costs welcomed by Kilkenny Councillor by Liam Kelly O’Rourke Kilkenny People 01 Sep 2023 4:48 PM Kilkenny Green Party Councillor, Maria Dollard, has welcomed the publication of the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill. The Bill provides a cap on the market revenues genered by non-gas generators in the wholesale electricity market between December 2022 to June 2023. The estimated proceeds from the cap on market revenues are in the range €80 million to €150 million and these will now be retained and used in the electricity sector to provide financial supports to households and businesses affected by high energy prices. Cllr Dollard, commented: "This is good news for Kilkenny consumers who will see the money collected ring fenced to be returned to consumers who have been paying way too much for electricity for a long time now. We need to support those on the lowest incomes. There’s no doubt some people are being hit harder than others and without access to good insulation, bills can be very high for some, especially older people and people with reduced mobility." Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, claimed the move would 'ease the impact of high energy prices on electricity consumers' and stated he intends to bring this Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas when the Dáil resumes after the summer recess. https://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local-news/1287190/new-bill-to-combat-high-electricity-costs-welcomed-by-kilkenny-councillor.html