Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues in welcoming the deputation and thank it for the access guidelines which are most interesting to read. This is not an area about which I claim to know a great deal, other than having experiences, particularly with children's groups, when trying to access a venue or seeking to hold an event in a venue. Sometimes we are told venues are fully accessible, but when we arrive there are two steps to be negotiated and the people concerned suggest we simply lift in those in wheelchairs. We have to be mindful of the dignity of the persons concerned. Sometimes I have to make the point that we were told in advance that the venue was accessible. That brings me to my first question. Is there a list of venues available? Community and voluntary organisations regularly put it to me that they want to hold meetings or events and engage in activities. They are keen to support venues that are fully accessible, rather than waiting to see whether someone is coming who is in a wheelchair. The idea in the first instance is to hold the event somewhere that is accessible. This would be useful and is something we could all promote and a way to promote best practice.

Reference was made to the report of the Ombudsman for Children dating from September 2009 on a review of complaints on behalf of children in the provision of housing. It concerns the adaptation of a house. There were some recurring concerns in the report about what constituted a suitable housing standard for a child with special needs. One of the children concerned was in a wheelchair and it was a question of agreeing on what was appropriate in terms of housing adaptation. The deputation has referred to the engagement with local authorities since the guidance was issued. Has it improved significantly? Is it something we should be tracking? Should we go back to the report of the Ombudsman for Children and ask what has happened since and whether the level of engagement is consistent throughout the country?

My final question relates to the health care sector. We expect hospitals and such venues to be accessible. On Tuesday we visited the site of the new national children's hospital and the potential associated satellite centres. This will involve renovation of older buildings. I hope and expect those involved are taking the access guidelines on board. It made me think of nursing homes. In recent years I have visited numerous nursing homes, many of which purport to be accessible, but it is exactly as Ms Murphy said. The lift may go to the second floor, but there may be three floors and there are activities on the third floor. Technically, wheelchair users could squeeze in but not if it is a living environment or to be a person's home. The high dependency needs of some wheelchair-bound users are not catered for. A nursing home may claim to be fully accessible, but in reality it may not be in the sense that it cannot become a person's home.

These are my random thoughts. I would welcome any advice or guidance the deputation can offer.