Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. I appreciate this is a general response with regard to accessibility. Absolutely, there has been an awful lot of positive work done with regard to the EU web accessibility directive and we are working through that as a State. Healthcare providers have responsibilities under the existing legislation, which goes back to 2014. People have the right to access healthcare. It is not only for those with visual impairment. I have heard of people in wheelchairs who have problems accessing BreastCheck and women who have problems getting a smear test.

We have a whole lot of work to do with regard to accessibility to healthcare for people. We have the big picture with the Minister of State's response, however. It is absolutely 100% welcome and proper. People deserve their autonomy. If I might make a suggestion, the staff in every single hospital and all healthcare staff should know their responsibilities under public sector duty and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, and they should be trained. If someone has "visually impaired" written on his or her file, the staff should be able to understand that, walk up to that person and make him or her feel absolutely welcome. If someone rings up and says they cannot see a letter and to please email it to them, in 2024, with everything on our smartphones and online, surely, our hospitals can go beyond snail mail and send things via email.