Transport | How often and who provides disability awareness and access training to staff of the Irish Aviation Authority, the Dublin Airport Authority and the other major Irish airports

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Transport how often and who provides disability awareness and access training to staff of the Irish Aviation Authority, the Dublin Airport Authority and the other major Irish airports; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

In both Dublin and Cork Airports, the PRM service provider includes specialised disability awareness training delivered by an in-house trainer to their staff during the onboarding process and ongoing training programs (refresher training every 24 months). The training course objectives are as follows:

• Develop an understanding of passengers with reduced mobility and how to provide effective assistance tailored to their specific needs.
• Learn to communicate effectively and comfortably with passengers with disabilities.
• Develop skills and qualities to be disability confident when assisting passengers with disabilities.
• Outline best practice procedures for providing direct assistance to disabled persons and those with reduced mobility. Provide an understanding of EC 1107/2006.
• Additionally, daa front-line staff receive disability awareness training as part of a wider operations training schedule, provided by in-house Training Teams (Operations, Airport Search Unit Officers, Airport Police, Retail).
  Recently, as part of a broader initiative to enhance accessibility and inclusion, a daa pilot program offering specialised training on Non-Visible Disabilities was conducted. This training, provided by the independent expert organisation Ability Focus, included a mix of front-line and non-front-line staff and received positive feedback from participants. Plans are in place to expand this training across the entire organisation this year. From June 6th, 2024, all new recruits to the Security and Operations Teams will complete the training. The module will then be introduced into recurrent training for existing staff from September.