Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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1866. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to establish an Ombudsman for Disability (details supplied) given that at least 22% of the population is living with a disability and/or a chronic illness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44587/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for this question. Ensuring that disabled people have their rights protected and promoted on an equal basis to all others is a priority for Government.

An important dimension of ensuring this equality is the availability and accessibility of appropriate channels of complaint and redress regarding equal access to infrastructure, services and information. Government is fully supportive of the important role played by the Office of the Ombudsman in this regard.

While the role and functions of the Office of the Ombudsman covers a broad remit of investigating complaints made about public bodies, including government departments, local authorities, the HSE, agencies that deliver health and social services on behalf of the HSE and publicly funded third-level educational bodies, it also has the authority to investigate complaints made against public bodies under Part 3 of the Disability Act 2005 where public bodies are felt to have acted in a discriminatory manner, provided the complainant has already gone through that body's internal complaints procedure.

Part 3 of the Act (Sections 24 to 40) covers access to public buildings, services and information, and the sectoral plans by government to ensure that services are provided to people with disabilities. Section 25 of the Act requires public buildings to be accessible “as far as practicable” to disabled people and Section 29 governs the accessibility requirements for public heritage sites. Sections 26 and 27 oblige public bodies to ensure services are accessible to disabled people “where practical and appropriate” and to ensure that access officers are available to assist and guide disabled service users, while Section 28 requires that “as far as practicable, the contents of the communication are communicated in a form that is accessible.”

The Office of the Ombudsman can also examine complaints about sectoral plans prepared under Section 31 of the Act. These are detailed statements produced by certain Government Ministers “outlining the programme of the measures proposed to be taken by or on behalf of the Minister of the Government concerned for and in relation to those matters as they relate to the provision of services to persons with specified disabilities.”

As the independent statutory agency charged with the responsibility of promoting the rights and welfare of children in Ireland, including disabled children, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office also plays a significant role in investigating complaints made by or on behalf of children and young people about public bodies and agencies.