Written answers
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Department of Social Protection
Departmental Offices
Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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355. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the lack of a public toilet facility available to customers at the Finglas Social Welfare Office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25836/14]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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While building regulations do not require the provision of public toilet facilities in DSP public offices, the Department endeavours, where possible, to provide a fully accessible toilet facility for customer use in our public offices. Nevertheless, physical space limitations and/or structural constraints often mean that the retrofitting of a public toilet facility in existing offices can be rendered impractical, both in terms of cost and the disruption to services likely to be caused by the works.
declan moriarty
Posted on 20 Jun 2014 7:31 am (Report this comment)
As one person who brought this issue to the attention of canvassers in the recent local election and specifically asked Councillor Paul McAuliffe, to whom I am grateful, to see what could be done, I am saddened at the rather curt reply from an aspirng Labour party leader.
As a person with parkinsons disease I found my self in the finglas welfare office earlier in the year, my movement restricted due to my condition and nature calling. i was and still am shocked to discover no toilet for the public in a modern welfare building.
The Minister displays an arrogance and a disdain for mothers of young children, elderly and disabled, not to mention the hundreds of "ordinary" punters who must visit the building each week.
If as she asserts the building regulations do not require such a facility, which I very much doubt, then change the building regulations, I say. Declan Moriarty (finglas)