Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 March 2004
87 Mr. Stanton asked the Taoiseach the amount of money allocated by his Department in 2003 and 2004 to directly fund services for persons with disabilities and the amount of money allocated to enabling persons with disabilities to more easily access the services of his Department. [8636/04]
View answerNo funds were committed to provide additional facilities for people with disabilities in 2003 as my Department provides adequate facilities, including a ramp at the entrance, wheelchair lifts and disabled toilets. However, in 2004, the Office of Public Works are arranging for the upgrade of the lifts in my Department and adaptations will be made to make them more user friendly for wheelchair users in line with building regulations. Three websites are maintained by the Department of the Taoiseach. These are www.taoiseach.gov.ie, www.bettergov.ie and www.betterregulation.ie. All of these sites are regularly tested to ensure that they are compliant with WAI level 3 accessibility guidelines — these are universal principles for publishing information on the Internet, which include the promotion of a high degree of usability for people with disabilities.
The situation regarding the general suitability of services for people with disabilities is also kept under constant review so that any additional improvements may be made where opportunities are identified. Services for persons with disabilities are, of course, addressed within the social partnership process and the quality customer service dimension of public service modernisation, dealt with by my Department.
