Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Fine Gael Senators who tabled this important motion relating to services for people with a disability generally and the accessibility of towns and villages for people with a disability. I am conscious that we have said that we will have a debate on housing for people with disabilities in the near future so I will not deal with that particular issue today but will be happy to return to Seanad Éireann to discuss a motion on same.

I welcome and support this motion which acknowledges the significant advances made by the Government in promoting equality among all citizens, including people with disabilities, and calls for further measures to make the streetscapes in our towns and villages more accessible to people with a disability. In this regard, people with a disability have the right to the same life opportunities as all other citizens. Ideally and where possible they should have a home within their community where they can be treated with dignity and respect and get the supports they need to live healthy, safe and rewarding lives. It is incumbent on legislators, advocates and society as a whole to provide these supports to the maximum extent possible.

This country has embarked on an era of unprecedented change in services for people with disabilities over recent years. A radical programme of reconfiguration of services is under way to support people with disabilities in making the type of choices that are available to everyone else in society in order to enable them to live the lives they want to lead. A fundamental objective of the Government is to deliver disability services that are person-centred. By this I mean placing those who use our services at the centre of all our activities. This involves listening to people or their advocates and transferring our focus from the service itself to the people who use it.

As a society we sometimes forget that people with a disability have the same needs as the rest of society. A disability or health condition should not dictate the path a person is able to take in life. What should count are a person’s abilities, talents, determination and aspirations to succeed. I share with my Ministerial colleagues - including the Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for disability issues, Deputy Finian McGrath, who could not be here for this debate today - a very strong desire to ensure that people with a disability are afforded every opportunity to realise their potential in every dimension of their lives. However, that presents a challenge to us all, including family members, carers, front line staff, administrators, politicians and legislators. Each one of us must examine our preconceived perceptions of what the future for disability services should look like and trust the people with disabilities to point the way in leading lives of their choosing.

I would like to take this opportunity to set out a number of recent important Government initiatives that have been undertaken to improve the lives of people with disabilities. In recognition of the importance and priority attached by the current Government to addressing disability issues and as mentioned in the motion, this is the first Government in the history of the State to appoint a Minister of State with special responsibility for disabilities who sits at Cabinet, namely, Deputy Finian McGrath. He has made a major contribution in raising awareness and the profile of disability issues and in advancing solutions on issues that affect the daily lives of people with disabilities. This is an important development which should be acknowledged by all sides of the House.

Ireland signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 and since then successive Governments have emphasised Ireland’s strong commitment to proceed to ratification of the convention as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to ensure all necessary legislative and administrative requirements under the convention are met. Further to signing the convention, the Government decided last month to ratify the convention and the final legislative amendments needed to enable Ireland to comply with it will be contained in the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016 and also in a separate standalone Bill on deprivation of liberty to be enacted by the end of this year.

I note that a proposed amendment to the motion commits the Government to ratifying the convention "by March 2018". The position in this regard is that a motion is scheduled for debate in the Dáil next Wednesday, 28 February. If it is determined that Ireland will ratify the convention the instrument of ratification will then be deposited with the UN and the convention will enter into force 30 days thereafter.

In July 2017, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, launched a new disability inclusion strategy for the period 2017 to 2021. This strategy is the outcome of an extensive consultation process undertaken by the Department of Justice and Equality with the assistance of the National Disability Authority. The strategy takes a whole-of-government approach to improving the lives of people with disabilities in a practical sense and also in creating the best possible opportunities for people with disabilities to fulfil their potential. Included in the strategy are more than 100 measurable and time-specific actions that relate to the areas of education, employment, provision of public services, health, transport, and personal safety and autonomy. The strategy is envisaged as a living document with consultation on a mid-term review due to take place late next year and revised iterations of the strategy to be published periodically containing revised and more ambitious actions in the light of progress being made. Implementation will be supported by independent analysis and advice from the National Disability Authority and also by periodic review and oversight by the Cabinet committee on social policy, as appropriate. Building on the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to meet the housing needs of people with disabilities, the national housing strategy for people with a disability 2011 to 2016, for which my Department and the Department of Health has responsibility, has been extended to 2021 in line with Rebuilding Ireland. A major element of the strategy is the programme to move people with disabilities out of congregated settings in order that they can live independently and be included in the community.

Recent advances on measures included in the strategy include the publication by the Housing Agency in October 2017 of revised national guidelines for the assessment and allocation process for housing provision for people with a disability. The guidelines should ensure smoother operation of the social housing assessment and allocation process for people with disabilities, including those living in congregated settings. As I mentioned yesterday, it is important to develop strategies at a local level for housing for people with disabilities to deal with current demand and also cater for predicted demand in the future. Too often in the past when someone needed a house adapted or built, the case was made. It was often a year or two later before the person received the accommodation required. We are trying to pre-empt this by ensuring a certain percentage of all social housing stock will be built and ready for people who might need adapted properties. Each local authority has produced a local strategy that will be available online. It will be available to be scrutinised and tracked to ensure we are delivering on the commitment made. That is something we can discuss in depth in later debates.

The ten-year comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities was launched in 2015 to increase the numbers of people with a disability at work and the proportion of people with a disability in a job. According to the 2016 census results, a total of 130,000 persons with a disability were at work in April 2016. This represents 6.5% of all people at work. However, people with disabilities are still only half as likely to be in employment as others of working age and that is not really acceptable. The comprehensive employment strategy brings together actions by Departments and State agencies in a concerted effort to address the barriers and challenges that impact on the employment of people with disabilities. In tandem with this objective, the strategy seeks to ensure joined-up services and supports will be available at local level to support individuals on their journey into and in employment. The strategy will be reviewed and renewed every three years.

Two major processes are in place to deal with the accessibility of the built environment by people with a disability. The 2013 design manual for urban roads and streets, sponsored by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and my Department, reflects the growing appreciation that streets are not simply transport corridors but rather places in which people want to live and spend time. The manual sets out practical design measures, based on the principle of access for all, to be applied by road authorities, planning authorities and the full range of designers working within the built environment. Designs of new urban roads, streets and footpaths, as well as major upgrades, are required to place pedestrians at the top of the user hierarchy to encourage sustainable travel patterns and safer streets and address social equity. This reflects the reality that the poorest and most vulnerable in society, including children, the elderly and people with a disability, are the groups for whom car travel is less of an option. The manual addresses the use of contrasting surface materials and textures to assist visually impaired persons, as well as other measures such as lower kerb heights, to facilitate people with mobility impairment. The manual is being updated. Among the new measures being considered is the inclusion in the manual's audit process of the concept of universal design or access for all. It is intended to launch the updated document, with a dedicated website, in the near future.

New buildings and extensions or material alterations to existing buildings must comply with the legal minimum performance standards set out in the building regulations for the period 1997 to 2017. Amendments to Part M of the Second Schedule to the regulations, as amended by the Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations 2010, came into effect on 1 January 2012 and set out the minimum statutory requirements that a building had to achieve in respect of access. Part M provisions aim to ensure everyone, regardless of age, size or disability, can access and use new buildings other than dwellings and can visit new dwellings.

The National Disability Authority publication, Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach, sets out guidance on how to design, build and manage buildings and spaces to enable them to be readily accessed and used by everyone, regardless of age, size, ability or disability. Separate to the requirements under the building regulations, the building control regulations further require that, in the case of commercial buildings and apartment blocks, a disability access certificate must be obtained from the local building control authority. The certificate specifies that the works or building to which the application relates will, if carried out in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted, comply with Part M of the building regulations. It is an offence to occupy or use a commercial building or apartment block without having a valid disability access certificate in place.

The motion calls on the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to ask the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government to engage with the various stakeholders with a view to the committee making recommendations on legislative changes to help make to towns and cities more accessible to people with physical disabilities. In view of the leading role of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in the preparation and updating of the design manual for urban roads and streets, I will consult the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, further on this specific request. We should also include the Department of Health in the process because it has been involved with local authorities in the age friendly alliance, an initiative that has worked well. It has certainly helped to adapt many towns. All relevant Departments should be included, not only the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. I will discuss the matter with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Minister for Health and the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly. The idea is to develop an appreciation of the challenges people with a mobility impairment face in moving around cities and towns and consider how this appreciation can be built into existing or planned awareness-raising activities.

We have come a long way from the days when having a disability meant automatic segregation, disenfranchisement and being placed on the margins of, or even outside, society. Thankfully, we now live in a society that is more inclusive of people with a disability. This transformation has come about after many years of persistent efforts by committed families, carers, activists and public representatives across all divides. Our common aim is to ensure those living with a disability will no longer be invisible members of society but active and visible participants instead.

I have no doubt that more work remains to be done and that further measures remain to be undertaken. I imagine this point will be raised again. However, we can best achieve our goals by adopting a collaborative approach, harnessing resources, exchanging ideas and bringing out the best in each other. This can materialise through a process of rigorous and considered debate such as in this debate. This process helps to raise greater awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by people with a disability with a view to their being addressed. It should bring a greater focus to the area to ensure that in times of increased budgets we will spend the money correctly to achieve the results we have set out to achieve in the various strategies in recent years.