Mr. Desmond Kenny:

Before I respond to the Deputy, I would like to refer back to something that was raised earlier with regard to accessibility within the Oireachtas. I want to compliment the Houses of the Oireachtas for moving quickly on representations made to it. The ILMI made a presentation in the audiovisual room two weeks ago but we found it inaccessible for speakers who use wheelchairs. This was brought to the attention of those in charge of the workings of the Oireachtas and it will be remedied immediately. Inaccessibility is often not discovered because we have not been to a place but as we go to more places, people realise that something needs to be done.

On the NTA and our good colleagues at Dublin Bus, the former Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, made it a requirement that a disabled person be on the boards of Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, the NTA and CIÉ. I am a member of the board of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII and at the moment we are looking improving the toilet facilities at all motorway service stations so that there are accessible changing rooms in those service stations.

Being involved and engaged is the way forward. One thing this committee could do is to encourage local councillors and local authorities to engage. Members of this committee are committed to these issues but at local authority level, what one often sees is enthusiasm in pursuing things like cycling facilities, which is fair and right, but the enthusiasts want minimum regulation. On a pedestrianised street like Grafton Street, for example, those who want to bring a bicycle or a scooter should walk. There should be an insistence that what is pedestrianised is for pedestrians. Not all cyclists adhere to the rules. We would like to see the Oireachtas committee on transport, for example, give consideration to issues affecting people who are less mobile and that includes children. A more collaborative approach is needed. When we were working at European level, we looked at ease of mobility in the context of ramps for older people and people pushing prams and buggies. The focus was not solely on providing facilities for people with disabilities but on universal design, as was mentioned by Dr. Hartney, Dr. Craddock and Dr. Fitzpatrick. The aim is to include everybody.

Finally, on the Deputy's question about RTÉ, that organisation is living up to its commitment to provide a number of programmes with audio description, mostly on RTÉ Junior. I was delighted recently to get a copy of "Kiva Can Do" as my grandson voices some of the character parts in it. If the Deputy has 15 minutes to spare, she should look at "Kiva Can Do", which has audio description on it. That is a good way to introduce audio description to a younger population who are not disabled.