Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 41:

In page 26, subsection (3), after line 48, to insert the following new paragraph:

"(c) The compliance of public buildings with Part M shall be ensured by the allocation of certificates of compliance by a building control officer who will also be charged with the periodic monitoring and inspection of such buildings.".

I welcome the provision in this Bill which states that all public buildings, including existing buildings which come into public use, have to be accessible to people with disabilities. Amendment No. 41 is a simple proposal aimed at ensuring that public buildings are in compliance with this provision. It proposes that each public building should be the subject of an access certificate, issued by the building control officer of the relevant local authority, just as fire certificates have to be secured for each public building from such officers. The issuing of access certificates should be compulsory under this legislation, in the interests of ensuring that public buildings are in compliance with Part M of the building regulations. The acceptance of this amendment would strengthen the legislation by ensuring that public bodies — I am especially interested in bodies which provide a service — ensure their buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. The amendment seeks to ensure that such buildings will be monitored periodically to ensure they are in compliance with their access certificates.