Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
673. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education if she or her Department have carried out a risk assessment or an impact assessment on the use of mixed-sex toilets in schools; and if so, if she will provide the details of these assessments. [38444/23]
View answerThe decision in relation to the identification, allocation, wayfinding or signage of the toilet facilities in every school is based on detailed conversations between the school authority and the design team at the earliest stage, and in compliance with the recommendations of SDG-02-06. The decisions relating to the identification of sanitary facilities will (in every case) be based on the ethos and values of each individual school, agreed between design teams and the school authority at the outset of the design process, as recommended within SDG-02-06. In every case, all options relating to the identification of sanitary facilities remain open to each school authority as is specified in legislation. As such, SDG-02-06 satisfies entirely the requirements of all applicable legislative requirements in relation to the prevention of discrimination in our schools, and does so through a spirit of partnership with each school authority.
The journey that each school authority takes in delivering successful education projects can be complex and involves multiple stakeholders, opinions, regulation and oversight. The design guidance contained in SDG-02-06 offers the choice to each school authority as to which path they choose to follow in providing flexible and inclusive environments for pupils.
There is no instruction within the Department of Education School Design Guideline SDG-02-06 that schools are to incorporate gender neutral toilet facilities, or to remove single sex facilities. All toilets have standardised designs, it is a matter for each school to designate them as to match their needs. This approach allows schools to plan and develop toilets to match their own ethos and standards, without dictating an overarching design philosophy. The guidelines are available at www.gov.ie.
The design guidance is written to respond to the wide ranging requirements of a multitude of stakeholder voices, and intended to ensure that the school environment is designed to be flexible and responsive to each school’s individual requirements. Education environments are to be designed to promote equality, to be flexible, inclusive and adaptable to changing needs where these particular needs arise.
