Mr. Peter Walsh:

On the first question, on when we tender for motorway service areas, we require changing areas. The audit of 2019 showed some room for improvement there. The level of the changing area was such that it was not suitable for wheelchair access. I do not know whether work has been done yet. Many motorway service areas have been closed to people accessing the buildings other than for toilets, due to Covid-19 restrictions. Whether or not that work is complete, I could not say. However, it is in hand. In terms of wheelchair accessibility and road works, we directly look after about 1,200 km of the 5,400 km of national road.

We directly look after 1,200 km of the high-speed roads network where there are no pedestrians generally, so it is not common for us to make any provision for pedestrians during roadworks on those sections of road. They are largely motorways where pedestrians are not allowed at all, even for the dual carriageway sections. In the urban areas and the rest of the network, it is done through the local authorities. We fund the local authorities in that we are the approving authority for them and they allocate the contracts. I am not aware of complaints in terms of works of that nature. We would expect that there should be access arrangements for all road users, and vulnerable users and wheelchair users as well. An area of 1.2 m is generally the narrowest piece of any pedestrian arrangement that is acceptable. There should be access but if there are complaints, then we are happy to receive them and we will certainly communicate with the local authorities.

On whether local disability groups are engaged with at the time of design, I do not know offhand. Again, in urban areas we deal with local authorities as the sponsoring agency, so we would expect that there is consultation on these but I cannot give a definitive answer. If the Senator likes, I can get back to her on the matter.