
Client Profile: The Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage
In week three we profile another client Ability Focus worked with whose commitment to disability inclusion really stood out to us.
The Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage (Formerly known as the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government) is the government department whose role is to ensure the effective planning of well-planned homes and support effective local government. They also communicate weather information to Irish homes and businesses through Met Eireann.
Ability Focus started working with the department's Disability Liaison Officer, Training Unit and Access Officer to co-ordinate a Live Online Disability Awareness Training Programme through Cisco Webex during summer 2020. Training was delivered through 4 x 1-hour live sessions to staff from the department's offices in Dublin, Wexford and Mayo. When working with an organisation whose staff are located regionally the benefits of this remote training really came to the fore.
Participants tuned in remotely and contributed fully to an engaging and constructive training programme. Questions were asked during the live programme and many more were emailed after each session, showing a genuine interest from participants on topics such as legislation, reasonable accommodation, remote working and communication.
This department really moved beyond their obligations under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy to ensure disability inclusion is embedded within the organisation. They have since moved to the final stages of developing their Universal Design and Accessibility Policy valuing input from service users when co-ordinating this. This is a key sign of an organisation who understands the importance of inclusion when implementing new initiatives.
Colm Downey, the appointed Access Officer has been really committed to driving disability awareness forward and left a lasting impression on us as someone whose enthusiasm in this area can only bring positive benefits to supporting greater inclusion of Ireland's most diverse group within the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage.
If you are considering Live Online Disability Awareness Training for your organisation, please get in touch on (01) 699 1150 or email info@abilityfocus.ie