Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

If one were to decipher the reply and translate it into reality, matters would seem very different on the ground. The reply is very far removed from the reality. The late John Boland, when dealing with public service reform, introduced a requirement that one could read the signatures on all letters emanating from public service offices and that the public could make contact with the signatory or signatories. From many of the letters I receive, this requirement seems to have gone by the wayside as many of the signatures are illegible.

Many planning offices in local authorities are cramped, with people whispering their business to officials. Last week, an accident and emergency consultant at Beaumont Hospital informed me that he must assess patients in the department in front of other patients, leaving them with no privacy or dignity. Many doctors tell me they have to carry out physical examinations in full view of other patients. This is what the review should examine. Taxpayers who look for a public service should expect a certain standard that respects their privacy and dignity. I know the Taoiseach would aspire to the highest standards.

One principle of the quality customer service for customers and clients of the Civil Service, states that it should "provide clean, accessible public offices that ensure privacy, comply with occupational and safety standards and, as part of this, facilitate access for people with disabilities and others with specific needs". What is the extent of public buildings that do not have access for persons with disabilities? It is difficult to make practical access available in some older Government buildings because they have preservation orders. Has an audit been undertaken of public buildings in which preservation orders have not applied that do not have access for persons with disabilities?

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