Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

It is a worthwhile objective that we have bilingual recordings, in both Irish and English, in all our new lift equipment in State buildings. The Deputy raised this issue with regard to Leinster House and I double-checked my recollection. Some lifts do not have any recordings at all in them. One certainly does and in the other one it is so faint as to be practically inaudible. The lifts in Leinster House operate on a different basis, depending on where they are located.

I have instructed the relevant officials to ensure that the standard specifications for lift equipment include such a requirement. I am assured that every reasonable step will be made to ensure that all new lifts will be fitted in this way. Similarly in the case of telephone answering equipment, the same thing is highly desirable. This is an issue for each Department and Government organisation. In the case of the Office of Public Works, every reasonable effort will be made to have this arrangement put in place.

The Office of Public Works procures or acquires buildings in a variety of ways, and in many cases this is well after the installation work is complete. Much of the building portfolio is rented and in these circumstances it is not always practical to manage immediately to have such facilities as the Deputy requests. The emphasis up to now has been on the safety and operational aspects of buildings. The Deputy will understand that in dealing with builders and contractors nearing the end of a project there are many pressures on all sides to reach an acceptable level of completion. In such circumstances and with the resources reasonably available, it is not always possible to attain perfection. Some things, which might be considered serviceable but not entirely ideal, have been accepted. It has been the experience of the Office of Public Works that, even where money has been withheld, it has not always been possible to have changes or corrections made at the last minute.

In previous correspondence, the Deputy referred to Áras Mhic Dhiarmada as an example, where a local voice, both in Irish and English, was used in the enunciators in the lifts. The Office of Public Works arranged for the lift refurbishment works to be carried out as part of a lift replacement programme. In that case there was a competition among the staff to find the best enunciation and this was then used for the lifts. The Deputy will appreciate that the term "local accent" in a pluralist and indeed multicultural Ireland is somewhat more problematic than it might have seemed in the past and that conditions laid down have to be consistent with equality requirements. We find on trains these days that eastern European accents have become local accents.

It is estimated that there are 400 to 500 lifts approximately in buildings for which OPW is responsible across the country. I am advised that it is not considered practicable that there would now be a programme of work to revisit each site and retrofit either a new announcement in the existing equipment, or replace the enunciator equipment as might be required. The cost of this, even by the Deputy's own estimates, would be at least €100,000. In reality, the total cost would be well in excess of this, when management and processing costs are taken into account.

It is reasonable that the specification for all new installations will require a bilingual message in enunciators in lifts. I would like to assure the Deputy that the OPW will ensure that all reasonable steps will be taken so that this will be done. Also, particular emphasis will be given to ensuring compliance with this, when buildings are being handed over on completion of the works. It is hoped also that other organisations in the State will follow suit.

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