Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending and for their great work not just in this area but in many areas in our State. It is great that An Garda Síochána uses training to implement this approach and that it worked in conjunction with the University of Limerick and that so far, 3,500 have taken this course so far. It is nice to see An Garda Síochána has collaborated with the US, Belgian and Tanzanian police and that they have taken this course also. The NDA highlights that the Policing Authority will monitor the actions taken by An Garda Síochána to make its services and information accessible also and supportive of people with disabilities. Can the representatives discuss this? How is this driving improvement?

The Courts Service is interesting because it has 117 courthouses that are geographically dispersed across all counties. It has been said that they are there to inform, not intimidate. It has been a significant challenge to change the courts because the majority of them were located in historic buildings.

I want to ask one or two questions. In the NDA's Ireland’s Monitoring Report for the EU Web Accessibility Directive: 2023 Monitoring Period, the Courts Service receives an accessibility score of 35%. Can the witnesses discuss this? How is court documentation during procedures provided in an accessible format for people with disabilities? How can information and forms on the Courts Service website be accessed by people with disabilities? Let us say there are a large number of complaints. What is the service's complaints process?

I will give the witnesses time to answer these questions. I thank them for all their great work.