Dublin City Council Settles Equality Case On Audible Pedestrian Crossing Signals
Release Date: Apr 3rd, 2007
A claim of discrimination under the Equal Status Act in relation to a local authority switching off audible crossing signals at pedestrian crossings has been settled. Dublin City Council and Des Murphy, the claimant, agreed a settlement, without admission of liability, following one day of a two-day hearing. The Equality Authority represented Mr. Murphy in the case.
In the summer of 2004, Dublin City Council switched off audible crossing signals at pedestrian crossings in Dublin where audible units were located close to each other. They claimed that this was done due to the confusion caused for sighted pedestrians who may have mistakenly crossed the road on hearing the signal from an adjoining crossing. The City Council did not have any written complaints to back up this concern. The decision to switch off the audible units was taken without any publicity and without any consultation with the NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland).
As a result of the decision to turn off the audible units, Mr. Murphy, who is officially blind, experienced great difficulty in being safely and independently mobile in the city centre. Mr. Murphy sought unsuccessfully to resolve the matter by correspondence. He subsequently made a claim of discrimination on the disability ground under the Equal Status Acts against Dublin City Council, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Transport.
The Equality Authority represented Mr. Murphy and submitted, on his behalf, that:
- best practice in relation to making reasonable accommodation for people who are visually impaired required that pedestrian crossing signals with visible signage should be accompanied by an audible unit;
- international best practice demonstrated that there should be no confusion between audible signals where they are at least three metres apart.
Dublin City Council agreed, without admission of liability, to:
- switch back on audible signals at junctions where the poles are at least three metres apart;
- move the poles, run the pedestrian signals concurrently or make use of tactile devices where poles are currently less than three metres apart;
- consult with NCBI in relation to changes on developments in relation to audible traffic signal crossings and to have meetings at management level at least twice yearly;
- make a payment of €4,000 in compensation to Mr. Murphy;
- Mr. Murphy also agreed to withdraw his claims against the Department of Transport and the Department of Environment and Local Government.
Niall Crowley, Chief Executive Officer of the Equality Authority stated that, “We welcome this settlement in a case that raises important issues for people with disabilities. The decision taken by Dublin City Council in relation to the audible units demonstrated a complete disregard for the needs of people with vision impairments. Equality for people with disabilities will only be achieved where their needs are accorded a priority and are taken into account in all decision making. In this regard, the agreement to consult with the NCBI in future represents valuable progress. This would be an important precedent for all local authorities to follow.”
NCBI welcomed the settlement. Des Kenny, NCBI’s Chief Executive, said, “What this settlement does is create a new partnership between Dublin City Council and NCBI to ensure the interests of vision impaired people are properly considered in future. I would like to commend Des Murphy and the Equality Authority for brokering such a positive settlement for blind and vision impaired people with Dublin City Council.”
“Dublin City Council have taken major strides in introducing audible signals throughout the City and this new arrangement will ensure that this positive work continues. I hope that other local authorities take notice and will follow Dublin City Council’s lead and introduce similar consultative measures in other areas.”
ENDS.
Further information available from Patrick O’ Leary (01) 417 3386 or (087) 6848552 or Niall Crowley (087) 6848549.
The full text of the settlement is available here [Word, 24KB]
The Equality Authority is mandated to promote equality and eliminate discrimination in the workplace and in the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education.