Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 40:

In page 24, line 21, to delete “consideration” and substitute “approval”.

I will discuss the amendments together, if that is okay, and I will move Senator Higgins’s amendments.

Amendment No. 40 is very simple. It gives more powers back to councillors rather than the issue of consideration. Councillors would have to approve a mayoral programme.

Amendment No. 41 gives councillors more time to consider the programme before it is discussed at the meeting. It changes the length of time for consideration from seven days to 14 days, which is worthwhile because often councillors are part time and will be in work, so it gives them a bit of an extension to be able to consider it.

Amendment No. 44 seeks to insert a new subsection which would provide that the members of elected council may move amendments to the mayoral programme at the meeting referred to in subsection (3) and the mayor shall either accept such amendments or reject them and provide a rational for rejection. This amendment will give councillors an enhanced role in the formation of the programme but will still ensure that the mayor has the autonomy and authority to set the agenda.

Amendment No. 45 seeks to ensure that copies of the mayoral programme will be made available for consultation and borrowing at all public libraries in Limerick in order to ensure accessibility, inclusivity and that the digital divide does not prevent people from reading the mayoral programme.

Amendment No. 46 would insert a new subsection (7) which requires that a version of the mayoral programme be produced and made available in plain English. That is fundamental to accessibility and inclusivity and it is a requirement under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is a relatively simple amendment that would have tangible benefits for people.

I urge the Minister of State to accept these amendments, particularly amendment No. 46 in respect of the requirement for plain English. One of the aspects of creating an inclusive and accessible city of Limerick is that everyone can appreciate and engage with the programme that the mayor wants to implement during their time office. Our cities belong to each and every one of us. They should be spaces we can collaboratively and imaginatively remake together.

UN data shows that more than 30% of persons with disabilities in some countries found that transportation and public spaces are not accessible. It also shows that a great deal of public housing globally is inaccessible to disabled people. The facts are well documented, and change is needed. In 2011, the World Health Organization reported that disabled people are less likely to either socialise or work in the absence of accessible transport.They are all things that are well known and have been well discussed. Going back to the mayoral programme and accessibility, this amendment is important because it signals that we are not only going to say our disabled citizens matter, we will create urban spaces which belong to and are shaped by disabled people.