Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge our friends from Estonia. In the context of our European neighbours, we have a lot to learn from Estonia, particularly its approach to digital advancements. There is a lot to be followed there in terms of developing our capacity in the digital realm. I welcome them to the Chamber this morning.

I also acknowledge that today is European Day of Victims of Crime so it is very important we remember that we have so much work to do to ensure that those who are victims of crime are recognised and that we put everything we can in place in our laws to ensure they are protected and their rights are vindicated, which is tremendously important. I know there is a number of mechanisms in place. This Seanad passed a number of laws specifically to address the survivors of crime of various different types but it is important on this day that we remember the victims of crime and redouble our efforts to ensure we do whatever we can to support them.

What I want to specifically address today are accessibility issues. On Saturday, I will be attending the launch of Finding Charlie's Voice, an Irish charity that supports children with communication difficulties. It is named after a little boy named Charlie who has verbal dyspraxia, which means that although he is a perfectly normal child, he has difficulty expressing himself and his verbal expression is very limited. The charity puts in place lots of supports for schools and children in playgrounds to allow children with any disconnect between their communication skills and their intellect to express themselves and communicate with others. It is a very worthwhile charity.

It is one of so many organisations around this country that work on developing accessibility for people who for one reason or another are disadvantaged in terms of accessibility be that a physical or other kind of issue. One issue that came to light recently concerns the deposit return scheme. This is a great scheme that makes sense and will massively increase the level of recycling but the machines that are being installed in supermarkets and shops all over Ireland are not particularly accessible to wheelchair users. One I highlighted in a tweet recently is in a branch of Lidl in Glenageary had different issues because people had left a lot of plastic bottles that the machine was not accepting instead of taking them home but that is another day's work. The reality is that the inlet for the bottles is quite high so it is not particularly accessible to someone in a wheelchair. Could we incorporate this issue into a general debate on accessibility issues and whether there is room for machines that accommodate the fact that not everybody can reach that high?It is not just wheelchair users; this affects lots of people. Children will want to be involved in recycling. Even people who are not particularly tall might have difficulties. Should we not be putting in place a guarantee that these machines are accessible to everyone, irrespective of their physical ability, and ensuring everyone can engage in the return scheme and recycling initiative?