“The general public need to be more aware of the needs of people with disabilities.”

That’s according to SDLP Councillor Patricia Rogers who was “shocked” last week as she left the opening of the new Enniskillen Castle Museum with two disabled friends and saw cars parked indiscriminately on the footpaths surrounding Fermanagh’s popular tourism offering.

“I was with my friends Eileen Drumm, who uses a scooter and Gerry Maguire, who uses a wheelchair. They had great difficulty in finding a dropped kerb where they could manoeuvre off the footpath due to all the cars. At one point they were actually on the road. The point I am making is that we need to raise awareness about other people who use the paths; double buggies, wheelchairs and scooters cannot get past,” Councillor Rogers stated.

The Enniskillen Councillor sits on the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Disability Advisory Group which will meet today (Thursday). Eileen Drumm, who is reportedly “livid” about the experience, will be in attendance to highlight the parking issue which arose last week.

Councillor Rogers feels “very aggrieved” about the issue and hopes that by highlighting it, she can raise awareness about the needs of people with a disability.

“There are lots of big events in Enniskillen throughout the year when there are more cars than usual. These drivers need to be more aware of where they are parking,” said Councillor Rogers.

She concluded: “I intend to follow this up because cones or wardens should have been introduced to deal with the traffic at the Castle. Perhaps there is a need in general for more blue badge parking spaces.”