Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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280. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 396 of 2 November 2021, if the working group in his Department that is currently examining the provision for a changing places toilet in certain buildings will also examine the Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations 2010 in terms of dwellings with a view to ensuring the provision of not just wheelchair accessible but wheelchair liveable dwellings. [57187/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In December 2020, my Department established a Working Group specifically to examine the provision for a changing places toilet in certain buildings. A changing places toilet offers larger supported facilities that address the needs of people for whom current accessible sanitary accommodation is inadequate. These facilities enable people with complex care needs to take part in everyday activities such as travel, shopping, family days out or attending a sporting event.

The plenary Working Group has met six times to date, in addition to a number of sub-group meetings. Draft documentation, which includes Draft Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations 2021, Draft Technical Guidance Document M – Access and Use 2021 and a Regulatory Impact Analysis, is currently being prepared to support a public consultation in the matter later this year.

The ‘Programme for Government Our SharedFuture’ commits to ensuring that there is an appropriate mix of housing design types provided, including universally designed units, and accommodation for older people and people with disabilities.

The housing needs of people with disabilities are addressed in the National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability (NHSPWD) 2016-2021. A new NHSPWD, is currently being developed by my Department and the Department of Health, with a view to publishing by the end of 2021. The strategy is about facilitating the provision of housing options and related services to disabled people to allow individual choice and support independent living.

The joint policy statement Housing Options for Our Ageing Population, launched by my Department and the Department of Health in 2019, includes an Action on universal design to “In partnership with industry, introduce measures to ensure that over a five year period delivery is increased to ensure that 30% of all new dwellings are built to incorporate universal design principles to accommodate our ageing population.”

I understand that appropriate measures to deliver on this commitment are currently being formulated by the National Disability Authority (NDA), which falls under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, and who are an independent statutory body that provides information and advice to the Government on policy and practice relevant to the lives of persons with disabilities.