Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is welcome. I wish him to ask the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to engage with local authorities to request clear actions, targets and reporting regarding implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD.It is about time the Departments, local authorities and State agencies got real and serious about implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It should never be a box-ticking exercise or personality policy where one person in a local authority or Department has an interest in doing the right thing and brings up the standards within that local authority or Department.

I wrote to the Department recently asking that it write to the local authorities to ask each of them its action plans for the implementation of the UNCRPD. If the Department was serious, it would be investing and making it mandatory to do these things. However, when the Department responded to my questions on making it mandatory for disability staff training or on what it is doing in regard to upskilling or, indeed, on implementing any article of the UNCRPD, what I got back was jargon. To be honest, I was quite upset about it. What I got back was that section 47(1)(a) of the Disability Act 2015 requires public bodies in so far as is practicable to take all reasonable measures to promote and support employment by them of people of disabilities. "As far as practicable" is not an answer. As far as reasonable measures are concerned, there is no mandatory reporting. There are no concrete guidelines. There is nothing to ensure people with disabilities who work within the authorities are looked after and protected. I know first-hand there are people being bullied and abused every day and there is no way to report it and no line manager to go to. This is because, going back to the start, it is personality policy. If one has a good personality and is in control of these situations, one has a good policy. At present, there is no uniformity with regard to any of this.

The Department would not even write to me when I asked whether there was disability awareness training. It could not even ask a county manager whether he or she conducted or provided his or her staff with disability awareness training, disability equality training or any type of accessibility auditing training.

The Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, is here delivering a speech to me written by the said Department. To be honest, it is relentless. It is depressing if the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is at the front line in delivering housing and public realm projects, is not willing to accept that we need to start making it mandatory that policies are disability proofed. When we are putting in public realm projects and "improving" our local towns and we do not put in the proper tactile footing or do not mark our streets, we are making it dangerous for people with disabilities. It is cost neutral. If we are not spending money properly, that is a disgrace. It means the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is not planning for the future and not looking after potentially 15% of the population and is discriminating against them and making sure they are not allowed into our local centres.

The Minister of State should not get me started on the inaction in relation to making public partnership networks, PPNs, more attractive, suitable and welcoming for people with disabilities. I look forward to his response.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising what I think is a very important issue. Obviously, I am replying on behalf of my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Peter Burke and Rabbitte, who all collectively launched a new joint national housing strategy for disabled people, as the Senator will be well aware, on 14 January 2022. In that strategy, they set out the vision for the co-operation and collaboration of Departments, State agencies, including local authorities, and others in delivering housing and related supports for disabled people over the next five years.

The areas that are to be addressed to deliver on the vision of the strategy are set out across a number of themes, namely: theme 1, accessible housing and communities; theme 2, inter-agency collaboration and the provision of supports; theme 3, affordability of housing; theme 4, communication and access to information; theme 5; knowledge, capacity and expertise; and theme 6, strategy alignment, which focuses on ensuring that all Government strategies and polices promote the rights of disabled people from a housing perspective, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Among the objectives of the strategy is to meet our commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to facilitate disabled people to live independently and as part of the community by ensuring that disabled people have equal access to housing and clearer pathways to accessing support services, promoting their inclusion in the community from a housing perspective.

Housing and disability steering groups, which were established by all 31 local authorities under the previous strategy, are reaffirmed under the new strategy as the most effective forum for delivery of the outcomes of the strategy at the local level. The role of the housing and disability steering groups will be strengthened over the lifetime of the national strategy. Housing and disability steering groups are chaired by the directors of services in the local authority and membership includes representation from the Health Service Executive, disabled persons' organisations and approved housing bodies.

The strategy will operate within the framework of Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland which is committed to ensuring that affordable quality housing with an appropriate mix of housing design types provided within social housing, including universally-designed units, is available to everyone in Irish society, including those with disabilities. Preparation of the implementation plan for the national housing strategy for disabled people is at an advanced stage and will be completed by year end.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I reiterate what I have said to Ministers over the past number of years. Visions are not mandatory. There is no sign in this of mandatory funding to be earmarked for capacity building, for training to help communities and to help staff make sure they are not making mistakes. Staff are not making mistakes and making things inaccessible for people on purpose. They are doing it because they are not trained. They are doing it because they cannot see or they do not have that lived experience of someone in a wheelchair or someone who is visually impaired trying to get around our streets and our communities every day. We do not have accessible toilets. None of this stuff is mandatory. Visions are not mandatory. It is about time that we make these things mandatory within the local authorities.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I hear Senator McGreehan clearly. The points she makes are important. The Senator is absolutely right to raise the issue of the availability of such basic things for people with a disability and they should continue to be highlighted. I will certainly take back the Senator's remarks to the Minister. It is important that local authorities, in particular, are the lead in recognising how services should be provided. I thank the Senator.

Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I concur with the Senator. I mention my local authority even in respect of getting footpaths fixed for people with disabilities in wheelchairs.