Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this matter. My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, has asked me to reply to the Deputy on his behalf.

I wish to outline the comprehensive policy and strategy that is in place in this area. The National Disability Authority, NDA, received a formal request from the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Michael McDowell, to develop a code of practice on accessible information and services to support public bodies in meeting their new statutory obligations under the Disability Act 2005.

In September 2005, the NDA engaged in consultations with Government Departments that would be impacted by the code and by October 2005 had developed an early draft code. This draft code was circulated to over 600 stakeholders, including representatives of persons with disabilities and was also advertised in the national press with a general call for comment. As a result of this consultation phase, an advanced draft of the code was prepared and circulated to Government Departments for final comment. The code of practice was finalised and submitted to the Minister in late 2005 and was declared an approved code of practice under the Disability Act 2005 in April 2006 under Statutory Instrument No. 163 of 2006. The code of practice was launched in July 2006 as part of the national disability strategy and this launch was attended by An Taoiseach and seven Government Ministers.

In presenting the code, the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform indicated that the code was intended to support public bodies in meeting their new statutory obligations under the Disability Act and would provide public bodies with general guidance and practical examples of how they might approach it. To ensure that public bodies were aware of the code, the NDA organised a series of regional briefings on it in October 2006 and circulated copies of the code to each of the then 570 public bodies impacted by it. The NDA code of practice was also presented at the 15th annual European social services network conference held in Berlin in June 2007 at which considerable interest was shown in the scope and content of Ireland's national disability strategy.

At the recent annual conference for access officers held 3 May, presentations on improving accessibility of information were made by the ESB and Mayo County Council. The Railway Procurement Agency and Monaghan County Council presented on accessible procurement processes in line with section 27 of the Disability Act and Cork County Council and the Department of Social and Family Affairs presented on improving accessibility of websites.

To establish the most appropriate way to monitor implementation of the code of practice, the NDA commissioned preliminary independent research. This research was conducted in consultation with all key stakeholders and indicated that the best approach would be a self-report monitoring survey. Accordingly, the NDA developed a draft monitoring questionnaire. Following extensive consultations with 15 Departments, 568 public bodies and representative groups for persons with disabilities, a finalised questionnaire was issued for completion by public bodies in April 2008.

The findings of the NDA's 2008 monitoring survey provide ample evidence of awareness of statutory requirements and commitment to providing accessible information and services among the public bodies that made returns. However, it must be borne in mind that non-responses may well be indicative of some lack of completeness or confidence in implementation and compliance achieved at the time of the survey, which is part of the Deputy's point. It should also be noted that some organisations that have recently been established and are newly impacted by the code were included in the survey. Such organisations will require some time to identify properly and address fully all of the accessibility issues that will pertain to the services and information they have been established to provide.

Among public bodies that made returns on the survey, many important achievements have been observed. Notable examples of best practice were observed in respect of some particular organisations and actions. Notwithstanding this, a small number of important areas of underachievement requiring attention were also identified.

In so far as the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is concerned, in 2006 the Department prepared an accessibility action plan to set out the steps it is taking to deliver accessible public services. This elaborates on the general commitments in the Department's customer charter and takes into account its obligations under the Disability Act 2005. The Department has also formed a disability advisory committee with a view to improving access to public services provided by the Department for people with disabilities. The committee comprises representatives from a number of relevant divisions within the Department. To provide additional expert input, the Department's disability policy division also participates in this exercise. The remit of the committee does not extend to the public bodies under the Department's aegis, but there are proposals to ensure liaison with such agencies with a view to pooling experience in this field. The Department also has a disability liaison officer, an accommodation officer and access officers to monitor services for people with disabilities.

In consultation with OPW and other parties, the Department intends to undertake regular reviews of its accommodation and related accessibility issues in its facilities and services and will carry out reasonable modifications to improve access to its accommodation. To date, the measures taken to improve accessibility include modifications to the built environment, disability awareness training for departmental staff and website redevelopment. The Deputy will appreciate from what I have stated that a considerable amount of work and attention is being given to promoting the code of practice and ensuring implementation. That work will continue and I am sure that account will be taken by all concerned of what the Ombudsman has stated in her annual report.

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