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Do business buildings need to be wheelchair accessible?

  • 15-03-2019 1:05am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 8,755 ✭✭✭


    Do buildings such as (doctors surgeries) need to be wheelchair accessible? do they by law need ramps at entrances? do older buildings need to be modernized by law? im just interested in the legal requirement.


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 78,209 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    The Equal Status Acts create a general requirement for service providers to provide services to people with disabilities.

    Ideally, all buildings should be fully accessible. In practice, the Building Regulations recognise that this is impractical and to a degree, slightly unnecessary.

    The impractical category covers existing buildings where disproportionate* effort would be needed to make them accessible. This covers existing buildings like houses with door steps and smaller multi-storey buildings (offices in Georgian houses, etc.) that don't have lifts or ramps. Where substantial alterations are made to a building, access should be improved. Of course, building owners can make changes greater than those that are required.

    The slightly unnecessary category covers smaller buildings where there would be little or no demand. So, new houses are required to be accessible on the ground floor, but not upper floors. Similarly, apartment buildings of up to 6 apartments / 3 storeys and commercial buildings of up to about 300m2 are not required to have lifts.

    A Disability Access Certificate (DAC) is required for new Non-Domestic Buildings and Apartments.

    http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2010/si/513/made/en/print is the legal requirement. Technical Guidance Document M is the technical requirement that is normally acceptable https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/Technical-guidance-documents There are some related requirements in Technical Guidance Documents B & K.



    * Sometimes, adding a ramp to bypass a door step might require alterations to footpath levels , damp proofing of the building, altered aesthetics, etc. Alterations to footpath levels might affect levels on the roadway, which might be impractical on a hill.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,755 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    Thank you victor for the detailed reply. im a bit surprised as i would have thought more would be required of businesses. as a business owner myself, i would expect to and have no problem with going to whatever expense necessary to make sure my premises was as accessible to wheelchair users as it is to able bodied persons.


  • Registered Users Posts: 27,891 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    pgj2015 wrote: »
    Thank you victor for the detailed reply. im a bit surprised as i would have thought more would be required of businesses. as a business owner myself, i would expect to and have no problem with going to whatever expense necessary to make sure my premises was as accessible to wheelchair users as it is to able bodied persons.


    Wheelchair access is important, but it's not the be all and end all of ensuring that your business is accessible. I don't know what kind of business you have, but things like lighting, acoustics, aisle widths, counter heights all make a big difference to customers with disabilities. Font sizes and colours used on any printed material are very important too. Training of staff is really important too, to ensure that they are confident and comfortable dealing with customers with disabilities, knowing when to offer help and to avoid making assumptions.


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