Call for handrails to be added to West Cork sailing school's slipway

Cork County Council should provide extended handrails at a popular West Cork swimming spot to make sea swimming accessible to people with disabilities and mobility issues.

Independent Ireland councillor Danny Collins raised the issue in a motion at the recent meeting of the council’s West Cork Municipal District.

Mr Collins said he was calling on the council to extend the steps below Schull Sailing Club at the slipway, with a handrail also to be installed. He told the meeting that the location was a popular swimming spot, especially during spring and summer, and it was used by a “number of ladies with disabilities”.

Mr Collins said that the steps and handrail stop short of the water’s edge, and this presented a challenge for some people to access the sea. He said there was a real danger that somebody could fall and suffer an injury.

He said there was a similar issue at Snave Pier in Ballylickey a number of years ago, and additional steps and handrails were installed.

Seconding the motion, Fine Gael’s Caroline Cronin said there was previously a platform next to the water that enabled swimmers to walk out to the water’s edge, but it has washed away over the years, and something similar could be installed again.

Aidan Prendergast, senior executive engineer, said Cork County Council was not responsible for the lands where the slip and steps are located below the Schull Sailing Club.

He said the lands are “in the remit of the Cork Education and Training Board (CETB)”. It was agreed to write to the CETB regarding the matter.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.