The ‘A.I.M. (Access Inclusion Model) for Better Access’ Toolkit is a free resource, produced by people with disabilities and older people, that aims to make public buildings, local businesses and community groups more accessible. It is part of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council's Access Inclusion and Age-Friendly Programmes and has been supported by the Public Health Agency (PHA).

The toolkit provides some top tips for businesses and community organisations to help make accessing services easier for people with disabilities and older people.

It’s important that people with disabilities and older people have access to as many services as possible. By making services more accessible, there are opportunities for people to get out and socialise more, which has been proven to help improve physical and mental health and wellbeing. People with disabilities have also highlighted that businesses miss out on the ‘Purple Pound’. The ‘Purple Pound’ describes the £20 billion that businesses lose out on each year by not catering for people with disabilities.

Launching the new initiative, Chair of the Council, Councillor Barry McElduff, said: “This initiative provides people with a quick guide to potential adjustments that businesses, public buildings and community venues can put in place. They can also find more information about other organisations that provide advice, support and training.

"The Council’s Shared Vision is ‘A welcoming, shared and inclusive Fermanagh and Omagh District, where people and places are healthy, safe, connected and prosperous, and where our outstanding natural, built and cultural heritage is cherished and sustainably managed.’

"The toolkit will help to achieve some of these aims and lead to more positive outcomes, including the improvement of the District’s accessibility, improved levels of disability awareness among the community and more engagement from residents and visitors with disabilities and who are older."