Victor Boyhan (Independent)

I am pro-enterprise. I am very supportive of businesses and it is great to see them out on our roads and public spaces. However, I have spoken to my local authorities and the Disability Federation of Ireland, and I spoke to the Irish Wheelchair Association today. There are huge concerns about the policing. The key words here are that An Garda Síochána will regulate and enforce the provisions in the course of their ordinary responsibilities. That is what the Minister of State told us here. An Garda Síochána does not even have a car in some places. In some places, it has no resources. Let us not be codding ourselves here. The reality is that vulnerable people with a disability are being told to eff off when they have confronted people in the restaurant and pub business. That is the reality, that is my experience and that is why I am here to share it.

We have elderly people who are on perambulators and supported wheels trying to navigate some of our heritage streets. I think of Dalkey, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown, where I live. I think of Malahide, where I was last Sunday, and again was told by people and business they had the same experience. I think of people in Kerry, Limerick and elsewhere. We have to be mindful of people who are vulnerable and who do not have this ability. I am former director of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. People who are blind and visually impaired cannot navigate some of our streets. They are bad enough as they are.

We have little public realms. We have to talk about the democracy around the public realm. The public realm, in many cases, is these spaces that are shared between private and public. They come at a cost, and we need to treat everyone equally. My concern is that I have spoken about this year in, year out and nothing has been done. When people with a disability and in a wheelchair cannot get through and confront a restaurant owner, they say they are there to make business. They are shut Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to do business and make money. I understand all of that. We have to have regard, however, to vulnerable people who are navigating our public streets.

I am happy to support this motion. I have been in touch with my own local authority. Only last Friday I had a meeting with the disability access officer, who also shares concerns. We cannot be in a vacuum and only think of one person. We cannot come in to this House and talk about disability matters and supporting vulnerable people navigating their towns and villages if we are bringing in legislation that does not have some regard. I do not want a nanny state or a police state but I want someone to enforce it. I ask the Minister of State to write to the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, about it. I ask him simply to send a letter - no legislation. Let us cut the nonsense. I want to communicate with the 31 chief executives of our local authorities and tell them the Minister of State is mindful of the challenges faced by people with a disability, whom he, I and others represent, in navigating towns, villages and streets, and to tell them to enforce the matter. It is collaboration. We do not have many cases, whether it be joint policing, community services or whatever, because that is just a mess at the moment. I have been asking them.

I am sorry if I sound a bit animated or agitated, but I am deeply concerned because of experiences of people who have come to me in my office regarding people with disabilities, young children in prams, elderly people who need support wheels to navigate our streets, people with disabilities in wheelchairs and visually impaired people. We must keep our streets open. It is a question of managing our public realms and our public space with the local authorities. There are 30 chief executives and one secretary general in Limerick. That is not too much to ask anyone. I ask the Minister of State to commit to writing that we are mindful that we want to support outdoor business, communities and all the benefits – I enjoy them too – but we also have a responsibility to more vulnerable citizens that these spaces are kept open and accessible. It is a combination of synergy and working between An Garda Síochána and the local authorities to ensure that happens over the next six months.