From: sloubtin@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Sylvain Louboutin)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Ireland accessibility (accommodation in Dublin)
Date: 24 Jul 92 20:13:06 GMT
Reply-To: sloubtin@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Sylvain Louboutin)

Index Number: 23354

Ireland accessibility, accessible and reasonably priced accommodation
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in Dublin:
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I went to the tourist office in Dun Laoghaire to look for an
accommodation suitable for a wheelchair user (someone visiting Ireland
soon).  I knew from my own experience of travelling in Ireland that
there are many B&B (Bed and Breakfast) accommodations which do not
advertise themselves as being accessible,  either because they do not
match the rather silly 'norms' (usually overkill, i.e. which assume
that all wheelchairs are at least 65 centimeter wide) or because their
owner never thought about it.  Another thing which I was aware of was
that some hotels actually take advantage of the accessibility issue and
provide high-tech suite but at a rip off price (e.g. Jurys with its
'accessible room' costing 150 pounds/night which is ten time the price
of a nice B&B).

Tourist Offices in Ireland are always very helpful.  The lady who
looked after me spent an hour or so calling different B&B,  asking for
details (such as door widths;  by the way be ready to know the
conversions between inches and centimeters,  I know the usual
wheelchairs widths in centimeters,  they use only inches over here)...

This looked like a difficult challenge indeed.  At the end she called
University College Dublin (UCD).  Universities often use student
accommodations as B&B (*) during the summer.  Student accommodations can
be quite nice.  The accommodations of UCD for instance are small self
catering apartments (i.e. with bathroom and kitchen) shared by three
single rooms.  The 'UCD Village' is made of brand new buildings,  and
some of these apartments are specifically designed to accommodate
disabled persons,  and rented at the same price as other rooms that is
16 pounds/night/person.  I know UCD well (I spend a couple of years
there as a student),  and I know them for being keen on accommodation
disabled students.  As on-campus accommodation,  you also beneficiate
from all the facilities you could expect from a campus i.e.  numerous
parking places, restaurants, travel agents, a pub (of course), the best
sport facilities in town,  laundrette (and may be even Internet
connection if you are nice :-)  It seems that University College Galway
(UCG) provides similar accommodation (but I have not checked yet).

  (*) actually this is not really B&B in this cases the breakfast
      is not included

I thought this information would be worth sharing.

UCD Village,  Belfield,  Dublin 4, tel: (+353-1) 269 76 96

(Belfield is actually a 4 miles south of City centre; it is a nice
'landscaped' campus;  do not mistake it for TCD!).

open June 21st to September 21st

accommodation type:           |  per night       |  per week
------------------------------+------------------+-------------------
Apartment (up to 3 people)    |  45 Irish pounds |  270 Irish pounds
Individual (sharing apartment)|  15 Irish pounds |  90 Irish pounds

  (that's from their documentation;  apparently prices went up a bit e.g.
   16 pounds instead of 15 for individual; prices include electricity, bed
   linen, use of kitchen facilities and taxes).

they accept Access and Visa cards.

There is also a useful (and free)  "Guide for Disabled Persons" for
Dublin published by the National Rehabilitation Board, 25 Clyde Road,
Dublin 4, Ireland.

//Sylvain R.Y. Louboutin, fax: (+353-1)772204, e-mail: sloubtin@dsg.cs.tcd.ie
//Distributed System Group, O'Reilly Institute, room F.35, (+353-1)7021539 ..
//Department of Computer Science, Trinity College, Dublin 2, -Ireland- ASK-18