Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will. Will I meet the Minister in the Grand Hotel? It is an amazing place. It is similar in Dalkey, in Monkstown village and in Dún Laoghaire, as well as in other parts of the country. I acknowledge the importance and the significance and I believe it is here to stay. We must be realistic. It is good that it is here to stay. It creates expanded opportunities for tourists but also for us, as people. More people have discovered more about what is around the corner from their house as a result of Covid-19 in terms of open space and public realm and that it is brilliant.

I have two concerns. One is that we do not allow what is a temporarily exempted development to become permanent development. We have seen many badly-designed, hooked-up bits of wood, timber and awnings which are not very stable. This is grand in an emergency but it is not how we should have it in the long term. I am mindful that if we let things slip, before long seven years will pass and we will have these makeshift structures around the place. I am very conscious of this in areas of architectural conservation but wherever they are, they should be right, safe and fit for purpose. We need to be mindful of that in the long term.

More importantly, my real concern is on disability. There is an Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters that has strongly advocated for the cleaning up and taking away of excessive street furniture, but more importantly, of A-boards. A-boards are part of this clutter on our streets and I would like to see no A-boards for the next while because every time someone puts up an A-board that says “my shoe shop is here”, the next guy puts up another A-board. I counted 25 A-boards in Dún Laoghaire the other day. I am a former director of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, which is a wonderful charity. We are constantly approached and challenged about what we can do. The Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, is another organisation. There is an awful lot of street clutter. We know from public bodies and insurance companies that there is an excessive amount of claims in regard to public space and the public realm. All we can do is put in measures. I am not saying this needs legislation. It needs a conversation with local authorities to ascertain how we can we stop the proliferation of A-boards, particularly in the interim while this is going on. There is no need for them, quite frankly. The second, question is how can we do a safety audit. Most local authorities have a disability officer. I suggest a simple letter from the Minister to the local authorities asking their disability officers to audit these structures on an ongoing basis, just to be sure they are not presenting an issue for children in buggies, people with disability and hearing- and visually-impaired people, because it is a genuine concern and a challenge for them. We need to be mindful of that and address it.

I have also seen a number of temporary, disabled parking spaces being taken out by local authorities. I am shocked. In Dublin, local authorities have taken out – I photographed them on my phone and I can share them with members – disability bays and have put up temporary flooring to facilitate the extension of the footpath. Now we have a situation in some shops in Dublin city and county where the space we had for public realm seating has now become an area for displaying vegetables. Some, only some, greedy retailers are taking advantage of that. We need strict guidelines but it is about working practically with the disability officers and the local authorities to ensure it is monitored.

That is all. I am not against it and I support the whole thing. We do not need a whole plethora of legislation. Let us keep this simple but let us engage and say to the local authorities that this is a challenge. It is on a temporary basis. It may go onto a permanent basis in the long term. That is my concern for the disability sector and for people with buggies and so on. We should be mindful not to develop some sort of a precedent or misunderstanding that these could become permanent structures without the proper and necessary planning consents. I am supportive of it and will wrap up with the point that it is about engagement in the communication with the local authorities that they be mindful of these particular challenges. I thank the Minister and his officials for coming to the committee.