Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Section 25 of the Bill states:

Subject to subsection (4) and section 29, a public body shall ensure that its public buildings are, as far as practicable, accessible to persons with disabilities.

Section 25(3)(a) of the Bill states:

Buildings, which are public buildings on the commencement of this section or which become public buildings 40 after such commencement, shall be brought into compliance with Part M (unless the building is already required to be so compliant) not later than 31 December 2015.

Amendment No. 22 seeks compliance with Part M of the building regulations through allocation of certificates of compliance by building control officers. Under the Building Control Act 1990, the enforcement of the national building regulations, including Part M, which relates to access for people with disabilities, is vested in local building control authorities. The responsibility is not on individual officers employed by these authorities.

I pointed out on Committee Stage that the Government plans to introduce a building control (amendment) Bill this autumn. The Bill will provide for the introduction of a disability access certificate system, whereby the building control authority will certify that all planned non-domestic buildings and apartment blocks comply with Part M of the building regulations before work commences. This system will apply to a wider range of buildings than the public buildings covered by the proposed amendment to section 25 now under discussion.

I appreciate the Members' expressed concerns as they wish to see the issue dealt with in the Disability Bill rather than waiting for legislation to be enacted. However, this matter is more appropriate to that legislation. The Disability Bill cannot deal with every aspect of policy that will have an impact on people with disabilities. I am confident that the provisions of section 25 are already adequate in respect of the obligations placed on public bodies to make their buildings accessible in accordance with Part M regulations and to further upgrade their buildings where those regulations are amended. There are also provisions for compliance and appeals to the Ombudsman when a body fails to comply with these obligations. These bodies must also adhere to any further obligations arising from the building control Bill.

In addition, the sectoral plan of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will contain information about the measures to be taken to ensure compliance with the building regulations. The draft plan will be subject to consultation with the relevant stakeholders and has already, in recent weeks, been the subject of regional information sessions, which are facilitated by the National Disability Authority. I am satisfied that the matter of certificates and the associated monitoring and inspection processes will be more appropriately dealt with in the building control Bill and therefore it is not necessary to accept the amendment.