COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 23rd, 2017

MOTION NO.10

MOTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

That  South Dublin County Council supports the campaign by the Disability Federation of Ireland in respect of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and calls on the Chief Executive to report on the measures taken and planned by this Council to ensure the participation and engagement by people with disabilities and their representatives in local decision making structures and mechanisms, with a view to budgeting and planning for 2018 and beyond for the Council to advance implementation of the UN CRPD; and further more to outline areas where engagement by this Council with other public bodies is improving participation for people with disabilities.

REPORT:

There are 50 articles in the UN CRPD which deal with a diverse range of issues most of which relate in varying degrees to the role and remit of a local authority. Four articles which have particular significance for the Council are:

Article 9 – Accessibility

Article 19 – Living independently and being included in the community

Article 21 – Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information

Article 30 – Participation in Cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport

South Dublin County Council has been committed to access and equality since the Council was established in 1995 and in 2013 the main County Town Tallaght was awarded an EU Access City Award Special Mention for the accessibility of its facilities and services. The Council is also committed to meeting its responsibilities under the Disability Act 2005, particularly section 26 (access to facilities and services), section 27 (procurement of accessible goods and services) and section 28 (access to information and communication), and appointed a Disability Liaison, Access and Equality Officer in 2006 to provide support and guidance in this area. Evidence of the Council’s deep commitment to access and inclusion for disabled people includes establishment of the South Dublin County Disability Advisory and Consultative Panel, the innovative Jobot’s Access All Areas accessibility game, online video access guides to Council facilities including County Hall and South Dublin Libraries, and delivery of a significant programme of access works across the County. 

The following are examples of the current situation in relation to matters which the Council has direct responsibility for under the four UN CRPD Articles listed above:

The Councils Land Use, Planning and Transportation Directorate is responsible for enforcement actions promoting responsible road and street use and parking. These include implementation of the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS), the issue of T2 licences, liaison and working in co-operation with An Garda Síochána particularly in relation to vehicles for sale on public footpaths and resolving illegal use of public paths such as the placing of furniture (for example tables and chairs), advertising and items for sale on pavements. The directorate also manage an ongoing programme of footpath repair and path dishing to provide safe and accessible pedestrian routes for all and has delivered an extensive programme of access works over the past 10 years across the County.

Over 150 public accessible parking spaces are provided by the Council across the County. There are also over 15 spaces provided for specific disabled or mobility impaired residents.

Other actions also taken to promote environmental accessibility and safety for disabled people and those with mobility or visual impairments include participation in the National Accessibility Week Park Right campaigns and circulation of relevant awareness raising posters and video.

The South Dublin County Housing and Disability Steering Group is chaired by South Dublin County Council’s Director of Housing, Social and Community Development and includes representatives from the Health Service Executive, Cheeverstown House, Cheshire Ireland, Circle, Cluid, the Irish Deaf Society, Peamount Healthcare, St. John of God and Stewarts Care. The Strategic Plan for Housing and Disability in South Dublin County Council was adopted in May 2015. The Plan outlines the objectives of the Housing Department in South Dublin for providing housing for disabled people, and provides information on how the Council aims and objectives will be delivered over the coming years.

The Housing Department works very closely with all the Disability Groups in South Dublin County Council Administrative area and are continuing to house people from congregated settings.

In addition, a one off provision of €1,000,000 was provided by South Dublin County Council to make substantial inroads into the backlog of Disabled Persons Grants (DPG) extension and improvement works required to council properties, in cases which have already been medically assessed.  227 Disabled Persons Grants were completed so far in 2017.

South Dublin County Council is committed to the provision of accessible Information Communication Technology, including the development of our website to WCAG double AA standard. The Council is also committed to being a literacy friendly local authority.

Braille and tactile way finding signage has been installed across the County including in County Hall, Civic Offices Clondalkin, South Dublin Libraries and community facilities such as Tallaght Stadium and the community centres. Audio Frequency Induction Loops (AFILs) for those who are hard of hearing have been installed at most of our customer service points and the Irish Remote Interpretation Service is available in County Hall and Civic Offices Clondalkin.

South Dublin Libraries are community spaces where people come to read, relax, learn and search the broad range of human knowledge stored in books and in online resources. Our libraries are accessible and there is a wide range of assistive technologies available across the network including adapted keyboards, software such as Kurtzweil and text magnifiers. Detailed access guides for each library are available from the South Dublin Libraries website.

A significant range of access for disabled people (both as spectators or participants) is provided across the County in venues such as Rua Red County Arts Centre, Civic Theatre Tallaght, Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght and Clondalkin Leisure Centres and within our parks. For example:

Providing and maintaining accessibility is an ongoing responsibility. Significant progress has been made across the County. Actions such as implementation of the Strategic Plan for Housing and Disability in South Dublin County, path dishing, provision of signalled pedestrian crossings, providing accessible and literacy friendly information, maintaining current accessibility such as footpath repair and monitoring the use of accessible parking are ongoing. However, additional areas that require attention include:

 Listening to the Lived Experience of Disabled People

South Dublin County Council has a strong track record of successful collaborative working. Two examples of this in relation to improving participation for disabled people are the South Dublin County Disability Advisory and Consultative Panel which was established in 2010 and participation in the annual National Accessibility Week.

Areas where further engagement of this Council with other public bodies would improve participation for disabled people include participation in ‘Operation Enable’ and the ‘Make Way Day’ campaigns. ‘Operation Enable’ was initiated by the Irish Wheelchair Association in collaboration with An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council. This campaign focusses on promoting responsible parking and the appropriate and legal use of the EU Disabled Persons Parking Card. The ‘Make Way Day’ campaign has been initiated by the Disability Federation of Ireland. It involves disabled people putting stickers on cars, bins and sandwich boards that are barriers to them as pedestrians. The campaign is to educate the public on the obstacles faced by disabled people. It’s to encourage people to think about where they park, where they put their bins, cutting their hedges and so on.

Promoting the Business Case for Accessibility with members of the South Dublin Chamber and people accessing the LEO service would also improve participation for disabled people. If retailers can understand the business sense of providing accessible facilities and services this in turn creates more opportunities for disabled people to participate in their community.

Measures taken, and / or planned, by this Council to make sure that the participation and engagement by disabled people and their representatives continues in local decision making structures and mechanisms include:

Budgeting and planning for 2018 and beyond

In addition to including provisions within the Council budget to continue meeting our responsibilities under the Disability Act 2005 and providing inclusive access to our facilities and services for all the people of the County; the following actions would enhance the Council’s ability implement the UN CRPD ahead of, and after its ratification which the Council will continue to develop: