Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and the witnesses for their input and for sharing their knowledge about the issues people face.

I was curious about the County and City Management Association regarding local government and local government plans; what plans are drawn up to deal with disability issues? Are the disability steering groups working effectively? Local area plans are important in laying out strategy as there are so many issues to deal with; does the CCMA get an input from disability groups? Is that part of CCMA's policy? I assume it is. Will the CCMA elaborate on how that works? There are many issues when it comes to people with disabilities, for example in playgrounds or simple things like getting paths dished; it is a major issue, as is the roll-out of tactile paving at bus stops, which is important for people who are blind. Will the CCMA tell us about that?

The CCMA spoke about a review of local authority housing strategy for people with disabilities. Will the CCMA tell us about that? What specifically is being looked at and what is missing in that strategy? It is clear that many people with disabilities are not represented. There are many volunteers and not-for-profit providers; the voluntary section does not seem to be well represented. Will the CCMA elaborate on how the working group will work? There is supposed to be an action plan; will the CCMA fill us in on that? The biggest problem for local authorities, I assume, is recruitment and retention and keeping staff or getting skilled staff with the ability to deal with these issues. Is the CCMA struggling to get personnel? What is the policy towards employing people with disabilities? Will the CCMA give the committee a rough idea of how that works?