Fingal Disability/Accessibility Forum

Role of Fingal Development Board in relation to Disability

 “ Local Authorities will, through the County/City Development Boards and with the support of the Boards’ relevant member agencies at national and local level, actively promote co-ordination between all the service providers in their area, in regard to services for persons with disabilities”.

Background to the Action

Under the Disability Act 2005 there is a statutory obligation for public sector organisations to provide more accessible services and facilities to people with disabilities. Circular LG02/07 now requires County Development Boards to “…..adopt disability as a key theme and to actively engage in promoting co-ordination between the relevant service providers in their area with regard to services for persons with a disability.”

In order to explore that question further the Fingal Development Board has included a Disability Action into its revised 2006-2008 Strategy and the subsequent revision covering the years 2009-2012 which will focus on the following objectives:

1. To look at issues of common concern for all state agencies (& other organisations in receipt of state funding) e.g.
   - Physical access to buildings & services
   - Provision of & access to information
   - Awareness training for staff
   - Employment of & support for staff with disabilities
2. To look at agency specific issues for Fingal.
3. To provide an interactive forum for detailed discussion of issues by state Agencies, voluntary organisations & services users.
4. To produce a in-depth baseline report outlining the situation regarding disability services & access issues in Fingal. This should include recommendations for short, medium & long-term actions.
5. To put in place a mechanism for monitoring progress in Fingal over the next 3-5 years.
6. To share & build upon the learning and experiences of organisations in Fingal to provide a more co-ordinated approach to disability and access-related issues.

For this purpose, a working group was assembled consisting of several of the state agencies and voluntary groups that have an active interest in this area.

The Board set a Terms of Reference for the group in its Strategy which includes the following (see excerpt below p24)

For further information please contact the Eithne Mallin by email or at (01) 890 6233