Killarney, according to Mr Brian Crowley, is one of the most accessible urban areas in Europe for the disabled. The reason for this, says the MEP, who uses a wheelchair, is that the urban district council has established the Killarney Access Group as a sub-committee of the council and has charged it with creating awareness of access issues in the town.
The council's monthly meeting regularly discusses means by which Killarney can be made more amenable to the disabled.
Last night, Killarney's Olympic walking competitor, Gillian O'Sullivan, launched Disability Awareness Week, part of the group's campaign to hammer home the message. Its secretary, Ms Fiona Brennan, said people too easily assumed that someone else was looking after the needs of the disabled. There had to be more understanding of what disability entailed.
Tonight an exhibition of disability aids and services takes place at the Killarney Youth Centre. On Thursday, there will be a benefit night hosted by Kerry poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice for Kerry Cheshire, and on Friday, the Kerry Cheshire Home is the venue for a school debate on "Irish society is an equally accessible one".