Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to raise this issue and I am grateful the Minister of State is here to listen to my concerns and those of my constituents and I hope she will be in a position to respond.

We are all very familiar with the generally excellent work carried out by our local authorities and contractors in terms of housing adaptations for older people and people with disabilities. Most of this work is carried out to allow elderly people to continue to live independently and overcome any difficulties associated with their advancing years. One of the most common problems encountered is people no longer being able to get up and down stairs. Usually, as Members of the House are only too well aware, the solution is the provision of a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, or the installation of a chair lift or a through-floor lift. There was always an emphasis on trying to provide accommodation on ground floors.

It is the option of a through floor lift which has caused me some concern in recent times. There are a number of issues at stake. I know of one case where a constituent only wanted a chair lift, which is a much easier and cheaper solution, but the local authority insisted on installing a through-floor lift based on the recommendation of an occupational therapist who simply refused to take into account the expressed wishes of the older person affected. In this case the elderly person was told to take it or leave it.

The second and really important issue of which we must be aware is that these lifts are sometimes installed in houses for which they are totally unsuitable. This means they could represent a danger to the lives of the people who use them. I have been in a number of small - often terraced - houses in which these lifts have become the sole method of access to the upstairs bedroom. Effectively, their installation has led to windows being blocked off. One does not need to be an architect, a civil engineer or a fire officer to be aware that there is an inherent danger in this regard. I have examined the guidelines which obtain in the UK. Those implemented by Isle of Wight Council clearly state, "Accommodating the occupant wholly at ground floor level should be a first consideration whenever possible." I can understand how, in these straitened times, more must be done with less. However, when less means a through-floor lift - in respect of the installation of which there are no official guidelines in place at local authority level - we should all be very concerned. Where through-floor lifts must be used, stringent requirements must be put in place. Such requirements include fire barriers, smoke seals, alarms and sprinklers. Critically, there must be an insistence that bedrooms have windows capable of being opened and large enough to facilitate a rescue or escape in the event of a fire or other emergency. At present, local authorities here are operating in the absence of guidelines such as those to which I refer. I would appreciate if the Minister of State could establish whether such guidelines are made available to local authorities by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. A much more transparent system must be put in place in order that all of those involved can be clear on what are the obligations. This matter must be dealt with before any kind of unnecessary or avoidable tragedy occurs.

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