Mr. Tony Cunningham:

Yes. I acknowledge the standards of the NDA and the different levels there. I also acknowledge the standards and guidelines of occupational therapists and I present the Irish Wheelchair Association's best practice standards. I emphasise, based on 60 years of experience that we are, as Deputy Ó Broin said, a very practical organisation grounded in the experiences of people with disabilities. Our standards are all required in order for someone to live independently, but they are only standards. Part M only allows people to visit houses but not live in them. In practice, that means someone can get into the house where possible, access the downstairs living room and the Part M toilet, which a person in a wheelchair may not fit into depending on the size of the chair. God forbid someone would want to stay in that house or live in it, because Part M does not provide for that. The UK building regulations have different levels of regulation, including wheelchair accessible housing. Standards, as Ms Barron said, are not mandatory, which is the reason they need a complete overhaul. Do we have to wait for that or do we get the Department to fast-track an agreed specification for wheelchair accessible housing, for instance? There is a great deal in place, including the standards, the paperwork and the intent, but the obligation to deliver on them is lacking.