Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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593. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development her views on providing fully accessible changing places and toilet facilities open to the public in all buildings which her Department owns and public bodies and agencies under her remit to offer people with disabilities and carers a network of equipped spaces to take care of personal hygiene, in safety and comfort. [38725/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department occupies offices in Trinity Point, Dublin 2 and Government Buildings in Ballina, Co. Mayo. While the offices are not generally open to the public other than by appointment, accessible facilities are provided at both locations for use by staff of the Department and by visitors.

In terms of the agencies under my Department’s aegis (Water Safety Ireland, Pobal, the Charities Regulator and the Western Development Commission), none have offices which are generally open to the public.  However, accessible facilities are provided for the use of visitors and staff in all the offices concerned. 

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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594. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the way that her Department and public bodies and agencies under her remit are implementing action 32 of the National Disability and Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 (details supplied). [38743/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Rural and Community Developmentwas established on 19th July 2017 to provide a renewed and consolidated focus on rural and community development in Ireland.

My Department implements Action 32 of the National Disability and Inclusion Strategy 2017 – 2021 in a number of ways.

My Department has a Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) in place whose role is to assist and support staff with disabilities and their line managers by the provision of necessary information, appropriate contacts, guidance, suggestions and advice. The DLO also plays an important role in promoting awareness about disability across the department and liaising with the National Disability Authority (NDA).

In March 2021, the Department provided a Disability Awareness Information session delivered by 'Ability Focus' for all staff.

In June 2021, my Department organised Outdoor Recreation Disability Awareness sessions delivered by 'Cara Sport Inclusion Ireland' for our stakeholders and the Department's staff. This was with a view to ensuring that the needs of people with a disability are factored into the design and delivery of outdoor recreation infrastructure in Ireland, particularly that infrastructure funded by my Department.

There are four agencies under the aegis of my Department: Water Safety Ireland (WSI), Pobal, the Western Development Commission (WDC) and the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA). Disability issues are a matter for those agencies themselves as independent legal entities, and commensurate with their corporate and legal obligations.