Vol. 501 No. 6
277 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the discussions, if any, he has had with banks, An Post, the ESB and other State bodies regarding the lack of accessibility for people with a physical disability and particularly those in wheelchairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6743/99]
The building regulations, which have been in effect since 1 June 1992, place a duty on persons providing or reconstructing buildings to cater for the needs of disabled people. Otherwise, the regulations do not apply to existing buildings.
My Department has on a number of occasions requested local authorities, Government Departments and, through these Departments, various State bodies such as An Post and the ESB, to ensure that appropriate provision is made for disabled people for access to all buildings, including existing buildings, under their control. The last such requests were made in May 1997. As part of their response to Delivering Better Government, Departments undertook to prepare customer action plans to improve the quality of services they provide to the public; access to public offices for people with disabilities was one of the issues addressed in this context.
The provision of access to existing public buildings in the private ownership of financial institutions is a matter for the owners and occupiers of the builings concerned.
