Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) regards the availability of housing for people with a disability that is of a suitable design and type, in a location of a person’s choosing and with the required personal supports, as a basic human right.
Compliance
People with disabilities often have very specific housing requirements and find it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to gain access to their preferred living situation.
Standard housing design, compliant with current Building Regulations Part M Access & Use (2010) Section 3 of the Building Regulations only provides for wheelchair visitable houses for people with disabilities, as opposed to wheelchair liveable i.e. provision is only made for wheelchair users to be able to gain access to the entry level of a house and the habitable rooms on the entry level floor.
This means that when houses are built in compliance with the building regulations, they are not wheelchair liveable. IWA is actively campaigning to change this.
Best Practice Access Guidelines Edition 4 2020
In the absence of statutory wheelchair accessible housing design guidance Irish Wheelchair Association has developed IWA Best Practice Access Guidelines Edition 4 with Section 10 providing design guidance for wheelchair accessible and lifetime adaptable housing.
These guidelines set a standard for accessibility in Ireland for the built environment including housing, public buildings, footpaths, open spaces, public amenities, retail, tourism, hospitality, and sport. IWA urges those involved in design, planning and building to adopt the guidelines as their standard of choice, so that all people with disabilities can live the life they choose.
These guidelines are informed by, and directly respond to, the experiences of IWA members who continue to experience poor accessibility within local communities that impose limitations on their daily lives.
IWA has contributed to the development of, and is eagerly awaiting, the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s forthcoming standard, “Universal Design Dwellings: Requirements and Specifications.”