Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of the silver linings to the very dark cloud which is this pandemic is that it is causing us to reimagine our cities and city centres and, to a certain extent, to reclaim the streets for cycling, pedestrians and things such as outdoor dining, which the Deputy mentioned, notwithstanding the often inclement weather. In general, the Government leaves these matters to local authorities. It is appropriate for it to do so. The people who know Cork best are those on Cork City Council. The same principle applies in Dublin and other parts of the country. In order to ensure that disabled people are not shut out of these new cities, because that would be a terrible thing, the Department of Transport could work on some form of guidelines. I will ensure the Deputy's comments are passed on to that Department.

See this speech in context