Father of disabled child refused access to a disabled car parking spot in his complex

Six disabled parking spots are scattered around the basement car park of The Davitt apartment complex in Drimnagh.

For several months after he moved in, in October 2022, Brian McKenna – his blue badge visible through the windscreen – could park in one, no problem, he said.

But the apartment blocks gradually filled up with new tenants, social in one block, private renters in others. Parking spaces in the car park are rented out, as an add-on.

He began to find notes left on his car.

“Please don’t park here. It may be a wheelchair space but it is being paid for by a resident," read one, a photo shows.

“This is not your car park. Stop parking here,” read another.

McKenna wonders if the disabled spaces are being rented out to general users, he said. He really needs to be able to park close to his apartment.

His daughter, Jorja, was born with Jacobsen Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, which means that at the age of 10, his daughter has the cognitive ability closer to that of a three-year-old. 

She has very complex needs, McKenna says. Mobility issues, and heart issues, and a platelet dysfunction, so if she is cut, she can’t stop bleeding.

This platelet issue, and Jorja’s innocence of any physical dangers around her, means McKenna has to be eternally vigilant, he said.

McKenna is willing to pay to be able to park in his complex’s car park, he said. He has asked, again and again.

But while there are disabled spots and he has a blue badge, as a social tenant in the block, he isn’t allowed.

His home is owned by Dublin City Council but managed by the housing association Tuath. 

The wider complex and basement car park is owned by Herbert Park ICAV, a fund managed by Avestus Capital Partners which operates under the Havitat brand, and is under the management of Savills.

McKenna has asked at the front desk to rent a spot, and been refused, and has asked through Tuath Housing and been refused, shows correspondence.

The management company won’t allow it, he and others have been told, because Tuath has no agreement in place for car park access for its residents – but it’s unclear who exactly is making the final call.

On Wednesday evening a bit after 8pm, some of the disabled spots were empty, while two had cars parked in them – without blue badges.

That’s usually the case, said McKenna, that the cars that repeatedly park in the disabled spaces don’t even have those badges.

A spokesperson for Tuath Housing said that the car park is overseen by the owner management company. They recognise the importance of accessible parking, they said, “and have raised this issue on a number of occasions with the relevant parties”.

They remain committed to engaging to come up with a resolution, said the spokesperson.

A spokesperson for Dublin City Council, likewise, said that it was committed to engaging with all parties to find a resolution. 

Two years ago, though, a written response to a query from then-councillor Sophie Nicoullaud said that council staff had been talking to the operator about access to accessible parking spaces, and its legal team was reviewing a proposal put forward which would see the council pay €75 a month for each space. 

Neither Havitat, nor Savills, have responded to queries.

A small ask

Disabled person’s parking permits are administered by the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Disabled Drivers Association.

They decide who is eligible for a permit, because they really need a special, accessible, place to park up – like McKenna, in his role as Jorja’s carer. 

This is a strange situation, said Richard Ryder communications manager of the Disabled Drivers Association.

One issue is that blue badges are really only enforceable in public on-street parking spots.

“The law extends to public places only,” said Ryder by phone on Tuesday. “Whereas like Tesco, Lidl, any of those places, it's down to the management company to police it.”

That said, when it comes to a person displaying a blue badge, he said, “you'd imagine people would just respect them”.

A spokesperson for the Irish Wheelchair Association said it hadn’t heard of a situation like the one in The Davitt before, either. 

“Irish Wheelchair Association would always fully support the operation and management of disabled car spaces in the manner that facilitates full access for motorists with disabilities, be they passenger or driver,” the spokesperson said.

These days, McKenna tries to park on a strip of Galtymore Road just outside the southern gates to The Davitt, whenever possible, he said. 

But it often isn’t, he said. He is competing with overflow on-street parking from other tenants of the complex, and local residents in the wider area.

So, sometimes, given Jorja’s needs, he still tries to park in the car park, out of necessity.

Recently, he discovered his car had been clamped in the car park by the company hired to operate it, Apcoa.

He paid the fine, he said – but then also applied directly to Apcoa for a permit through its online portal, which lets people upload their blue badge to prove they need access to disabled parking spaces.

Apcoa obliged. They sent him one of their branded discs, so their staff would know to leave his car alone.

But he was clamped again – with both the Apcoa disc and his blue badge visible.

His Apcoa disc had been rescinded, he was told.

“Declined at the request of the management company as you are not registered as a tenant of this location,” an email from Apcoa said.  

The idea that he is not registered as a tenant of The Davitt is ludicrous, said McKenna.

But as he sees it, the statement reflects how social tenants are seen by building management, he said. “That highlights that they don't want us at all and is typical of their attitude.”

The Mobility Management Plan drawn up for The Davitt in April 2021 as part of the planning process says of the six accessible parking bays: “Should residents with such needs require them they will be assigned accordingly."

Well, this resident requires one and has been denied, says McKenna.

All residents should have equal access to all resources and car parking, says Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan. “Especially people with a blue badge and who need access to disability parking.”

“The days of apartheid in housing should be over. It should be reduced to the rubbish bin of history,” he said by phone on Thursday.

Whither the council?

The segregation and unequal access to other amenities in The Davitt – and other complexes in the city with a mix of social and private tenancies – has been raised in years past in the Dublin City Council chamber.

But the focus has been largely on the fees to access any shared amenities, and the exclusionary burden of that for lower-income social tenants.

In this case though, it isn’t even about the necessity of paying that is in dispute.

McKenna is more than willing to pay for access to a disabled parking space. But he just isn’t allowed to.

McKenna’s issue in The Davitt exposes the deep problems in depending on private developers to deliver social housing, saysDoolan, the councillor.

It highlights the need for the government to provide adequate funding to build housing to meet the needs of the city, he says.

“This epitomises the worst of our dependency on Part V,” he said, “where we have to depend on the private developer to provide the housing that we need.”

When there is a father who cannot access parking despite the fact that he's got a blue badge, despite the fact that he's got a child with disability, says Doolan, this crystallizes the need for a comprehensive public housing building programme in Dublin. 

Dublin City Council itself has a strategic plan for housing people with disabilities. It cites a “person-centered approach”. 

Its mission, the document says, is to promote “equal access to housing by ensuring that people with a disability are placed at the centre of housing policy and by encouraging better communication and co-operation between all the relevant statutory and voluntary stakeholders”.

One solution, said McKenna, could be to make a few of the on-street parking spaces to the south of the complex on Galtymore Road into disabled bays – and permitted for those in the social housing.

The council hasn’t responded to a query asking about that proposal, sent on Thursday morning.

But if he and his daughter won’t be accommodated with the disabled parking space that they need, he should be moved somewhere more suitable, said McKenna.  

He had put in to Dublin City Council for a transfer, requesting medical priority, given Jorja’s needs.

The council informed him in January that his request had been denied.

McKenna said there is something off to him about using the name of Michael Davitt on The Davitt complex.

Not least, he said, because Davitt – the Irish revolutionary, famed for his involvement in the Irish National Land League – was also disabled having lost an arm in a childhood accident. 

The irony, says McKenna, is seemingly lost on some.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.