Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

The Deputy is right. It is 2025. We should not have a situation where in some of our national cultural institutions, people with disabilities cannot go in the front door. That is the reality because of delays. Deputy Ó Snodaigh and I spoke about this a while ago regarding the rehabilitation of sensitive buildings and architecturally conserved areas. There are people with mobility problems who cannot go in the front door of our national cultural institutions. I find that intolerable. It really sticks in my craw that we cannot bring people in the front door regardless of their ability or mobility.

The Deputy raised a very interesting point in which I have a personal interest, namely, disabled patrons. Some of our cultural institutions can be a hellish experience, particularly for people with photosensitivity or neurodiversity, so the resdesign and design of them has to be done in conjunction with people who are neurodiverse and have particular disabilities. I welcome the Deputy's proposals.

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