Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will give a general overview of disability provision and the Disability Act and then offer some possible solutions to the case the Deputy has raised. The ongoing implementation of disability-related measures has a statutory footing under the Disability Act 2005. The Act comes within the policy remit of my colleague Deputy Rabbitte, who is Minister of State with responsibility for disability at the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Act is a legislative framework which enables and places obligations on Ministers and other public bodies to provide services and related measures to meet the needs of people with disabilities, consistent with available resources. I am providing this summary of the Act solely for context and understanding. Deputy Rabbitte would be the appropriate person to speak about this legislation. However, I take on board the Deputy's point that this is a local government issue.

To support people who may have particular needs, section 26 of the Disability Act 2005 requires the authorisation of at least one officer of a public body to provide, or arrange for and co-ordinate, assistance and guidance to people with disabilities in accessing its services. This officer is referred to as an "access officer" in the Act. Associated costs must be met in the course of the normal operations of the public body. Until recently, the access officer in my local authority was the county architect. Other provisions of Part 3 of the Disability Act provide for accessible public buildings where practicable, the compulsory provision of accessible information and services and access to heritage sites. The National Disability Authority has produced codes of practice that are designed to assist public bodies in meeting these obligations. Where a person believes that the provisions of the Act are not being properly adhered to, section 38 entitles specified persons to make a complaint in writing to the head of the public body in question, and outlines the procedures for such a complaint.

In addition to the provisions under Part 3 of the Act, there are requirements for new buildings, and extensions or material alterations to existing buildings, to comply with the legal minimum performance standards set out in the building regulations 1997-2019. In this context, the building regulations relating to Part M and the accompanying technical guidance document on access and use, which came into effect on 1 January 2012, set out the minimum statutory requirements that buildings must achieve. Part M aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. While the Part M requirements may be regarded as a statutory minimum level of provision, the accompanying technical guidance encourages building owners and designers to have regard to the design philosophy of universal design. Guidance on how to design, build and manage buildings and spaces so they can be readily accessed and used by everyone, regardless of age, size, ability or disability is available in Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach, which is published by the centre for excellence in universal design at the National Disability Authority.

The issues the Deputy has raised this morning relate to the public realm and the reconfiguration of public streets during Covid. He quite rightly mentioned the loss of disabled parking spaces. That is something for each individual local authority to deal with. Where a disabled parking space is removed they are obliged to reinstate them in other parts of the urban area. Pedestrianisation in itself is good for people with disabilities because it provides safe spaces for people of all abilities to enjoy towns and urban centres. There are a number of things that other local authorities, including my own, have done in recent years to try to improve public accessibility. It is not just about people with physical disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities require good, safe urban spaces as well. I will try to address that specifically in my summary.

See this speech in context