Time to consult with groups led by disabled people on plans to make Mansion House more accessible, councillor says

Dublin City Council has been working for years on plans for a new entrance to Mansion House, to address long-running complaints that the building isn’t always accessible for people with mobility issues.

At a meeting of the South East Area Committee on Friday, local councillors voiced concerns as to the design and – a recurring theme of late – whether the council has complied with its legal obligations when it comes to consultations with people with disabilities.

Pat Nestor, the council accessibility officer, said that there was comprehensive consultation with organisations which advocate for people with disabilities and that the plans had changed as a result.

Independent Councillor Damien O’Farrell said that disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) are groups led by disabled people themselves – as distinct from organisations that advocate for disabled people.

Under the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the council has to consult with DPOs directly.

Failing to do that is a breach of their human rights, said O’Farrell. “We had a standalone public consultation in February and March this year and DPOs weren’t included.”

Some other councillors spoke in favour of the plans, which are due to be decided on by the full council at their monthly meeting on 13 May.

The proposals

Since 2016, the council has been working on proposals to resolve the issue of access, and is now working through its internal planning process, known as Part 8. The council sent the changes out for public consultation in February.

The plans show a redesign of the entrance to the left of the Mansion House on the lower ground floor, with a gentle sloping path down to the door. They also show an internal lift, to access the upper floors of the building.

The changes seek to deal with the issue that the Mansion House is not always accessible for people with mobility issues, including those in wheelchairs.

That’s because the current outdoor lift often breaks down, said the current Lord Mayor,

Fianna Fáil’s Daithí De Róiste, and a former Lord Mayor, Green Party Councillor Hazel Chu.

When the council bought that lift in 2017, it was the “Rolls Royce of lifts”, said Lenzie O’Sullivan, a senior architect with Dublin City Council. The lift breaks down a lot because it is outside and because of the wet weather in Ireland, he said.

In 2017, the council examined three options – all of which kept the steps at the front of the main entrance, said O’Sullivan in a presentation. They looked at installing one lift, two lifts, or a ramp and a lift.

They considered various designs to convert the existing main entrance too, he says. “Every option was looked at here.”

Disability groups that the council consulted preferred the idea of a lift and ramp, he said.

“I’d just like to endorse the process that has been underway for the last number of years and the outcome that you are seeing here today after so many iterations,” said Nestor, the council’s accessibility officer and a chartered surveyor.

The internal lift will be much easier to maintain and it will also have a larger capacity, says Nestor.

The plans also include new external stairs leading from the terrace of the Supper Room down to the Lord Mayor’s Garden. And, building a new Juliet balcony at the double doors to the Lady Mayoress’s Parlour.

If the full council agrees to grant planning permission next month, work on detailed design could start this year, a tender for a builder could go out late next year, and works could be done by August 2026, says the presentation.

A recurring question

On 8 April at the full council meeting O’Farrell, the independent councillor, had tabled an emergency motion about the council failing to consult DPOs about a new plan for transport in the city centre.

Before Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD)  in 2018, the council could consult with civil society organisations instead of organisations run by disabled people themselves, he said at the meeting.

“In 2018 it all changed, the DPOs have vested rights for disability proofing,” said O’Farrell, who was private secretary to former Minister of State for Disability Finian McGrath.

Failing to consult them is a breach of their human rights, he said.

The UN places an onus on public bodies to promote opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in public affairs, says O’Farrell by phone on Tuesday.

He says this should include joining DPOs to represent themselves. By failing to consult with those organisations the council is undermining the DPOs, he says.

The state adopted the UNCRPD in 2018, says Nestor, but “this project has been long-running, it commenced with working groups and steering groups in 2016”.

Ruth Dowling, senior executive officer with Dublin City Council, said the council engaged in comprehensive consultation on the plans for the Mansion House.

The problem is that DPOs are not always the same as the civil society organisations that may advocate on disabled issues, says O’Farrell. DPOs are organisations that are always led by disabled people advocating for themselves, he said.

Independent Councillor Mannix Flynn suggested that the project be postponed until all DPOs have been fully consulted. “I’d like it to be a celebration,” says Flynn. “We really need to get this primary building, this number one residence, right.”

Not all councillors agreed with criticisms of the current plans.

Said Fine Gael Councillor James Geoghegan: “At the heart of this is a very simple idea, and it shouldn’t be controversial, and that is to make the Mansion House as accessible to every single person in Dublin City and beyond, so that they too can enjoy this incredible building.”

Green Party Councillor Hazel Chu asked if there is any interim plan for the short- to medium-term to make the building more accessible.

Who is left out?

Representatives of two disabled person’s organisations, Voice of Vision Impairment and Physical Impairment Ireland, say they were not invited to contribute to the consultation process.

Asiam, Disabled Women of Ireland, the Irish Deaf Society and the National Platform of Self Advocates had not responded to queries before publication

Physical Impairment Ireland is an organisation led by disabled people. It was set up in 2021 and has 40 or 50 members across Ireland, says Leo Kavanagh, its national secretary.

Throughout Ireland, councils are failing to consult them despite their requests to be involved, and the local authorities’ responsibilities under the UNCDPR, he says.

“They would prefer to deal with able-bodied people who speak on behalf of people with disabilities,” says Kavanagh.

Talking directly to disabled people is different from consulting senior staff of major charities in the disability sector, who he says are usually not disabled themselves, he says. “We are more than capable of speaking for ourselves on issues that affect us on a daily basis.”

He hasn’t noticed any change in Dublin City Council consultation process since a new policy was published in December 2023 – which said they should consult DPOs, he said.

Issues with the lease

At the meeting, the Lord Mayor de Róiste also asked whether the part of the building where the new entrance hall is located is currently leased to the Fire restaurant next door.

O’Sullivan, the council architect, said that the lease agreement doesn’t affect the planning process. “Because the building belongs to Dublin City Council, we are entitled to a Part 8 on our own property.”

“Traditionally it can be negotiated during a lease or it can be negotiated at the end of a lease,” he said.

De Róiste asked what happens if the tenant doesn’t agree to renegotiation – would that mean that the council cannot proceed with the plans?

Dowling, the senior executive officer with Dublin City Council, said the restaurant has a 20-year lease with the council for part of the Mansion House.

“That part of the corridor that you are referring to is in the lease agreement, but as far as I know – and I can certainly get this confirmed for you – that can be renegotiated with the tenants.”

Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey, chairperson of the South East Area Committee, asked if the council could get a report on that issue before the full council meeting on 13 May.

He also asked if the council officials could consult the DPOs before that meeting. Dowling said she would consult the law agent, the council’s legal advisor, to see if that is possible given the statutory consultation period is over.

“Irrespective of what our views are today I think this should go to the city council,” said Lacey. The full council can decide whether to go ahead with the plans, he said.