Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020
909. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to provide an update on his work in terms of "disability proofing" the planning process; how he intends to make access to amenities for people with a disability a priority in the planning process; how he plans to improve consultation with disability groups on such matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12345/20]
View answerAccess to amenities for people with a disability is addressed by a cross-cutting combination of requirements and measures related to rights, building regulations, universal design, planning consultation, development plan objectives and road and street design:-
Access to amenities such as public buildings, public services and heritage sites is provided for under Part 3 of the Disability Act 2005 which is under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality.
In addition, there are Building Regulations requirements for new buildings and extensions or material alterations to existing buildings, to comply with the legal minimum performance standards set out in the Building Regulations 1997 - 2019. In this context, the Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations 2010, and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document M – Access and Use (2010), which came into effect on 1 January 2012, set out the minimum statutory requirements that a building must achieve in respect of access. The TGDs are available on my Department’s website at http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/technical-guidance-documents.
The requirements of Part M aim to ensure that regardless of a persons’ age, size or disability:
- new buildings other than dwellings are accessible and usable;
- extensions to existing buildings other than dwellings are, where practicable, accessible and useable;
- material alterations to existing buildings other than dwellings increase the accessibility and usability of existing buildings, where practicable;
- certain changes of use to existing buildings other than dwellings increase the accessibility and usability of existing buildings where practicable; and
- new dwellings are visitable.
Part M of the Building Regulations aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. While the Part M requirements may be regarded as a statutory minimum level of provision, the accompanying technical guidance encourages building owners and designers to have regard to the design philosophy of universal design and to consider making additional provisions, where practicable and appropriate. Separate to requirements under the Building Regulations, the building control regulations require, in the case of commercial buildings and apartment blocks, that a Disability Access Certificate be obtained from the local building control authority.
Guidance on how to design, build and manage buildings and spaces so that they can be readily accessed and used by everyone, regardless of age, size, ability or disability is available in 'Building for Everyone, A Universal Design Approach', published by the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority (NDA). The publication may be accessed at www.nda.ie.
The preparation of city and county development plans is entirely separate to Building Regulations. As part of all statutory plan processes, including city or county development plans and local area plans, planning authorities “must take whatever measures are considered necessary to consult with the public and interested bodies”, that include disability groups and this is generally the case in practice.
It is a mandatory requirement of the Planning and Development act 2000 (as amended) that county development plans include objectives for “the integration of the planning and sustainable development of the area with the social, community and cultural requirements of the area and its population”, with “facilities for the elderly and for persons with disabilities”, purposes for which objectives may be included in a development plan.
Each of the thirty-one local authorities must prepare a city or county development plan every six years, as well as more area or town-focused local area plans.
The Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS), was jointly prepared by the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) and the then Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) in 2013 and was recently updated in May 2019. The DMURS manual responds to the principles of universal design, as outlined in documents including ‘Building for Everyone, A Universal Design Approach’, referred to above.
Safety and mobility for all pedestrians, is a core objective of DMURS. There are two overarching ways within which DMURS seeks to achieve this.
1. DMURS requires designers to place pedestrians at the top of the design hierarchy.
2. DMURS provides designers with the tools to create of self-regulating streets which calm traffic and increase pedestrian mobility.
By putting the needs of pedestrian at the forefront of street design, DMURS is intended to meet the needs of the most vulnerable of users, such as children, older people and those who have a visual or mobility-related disability. The principles, approaches and standards set out in DMURS apply to the design of all urban roads and streets (that is streets and roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h or less), except (a) motorways or (b) in exceptional circumstances, certain urban roads and streets with the written consent of the NTA, TII or DTTAS.
