Baby changing facilities should be available in all public bathrooms – Ward

Government needs to provide funding for businesses and other public buildings to ensure there are baby changing facilities in all bathrooms, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Deputy Barry Ward said the Ministers for Health, Children, Housing, and Enterprise must work together so all public bathrooms have baby changing facilities, to help ease the concerns of parents who are planning a day out with their children.

“As a father of a young child, I have often experienced cases where I try to find changing facilities in a café or public building only to be told that they are only available in the women’s bathroom. I’d like to think we are long past the point where the expectation of looking after a child is considered a woman’s role, but this is a legacy issue that needs to be addressed.

“I have also met with a number of parent and toddler groups, and this is something that has been brought up by several families as being a point of frustration when they are out with their children.

“For all new public buildings, there are minimum building standards that include specific requirements for changing facilities. While this is very positive, we need to work on existing buildings that were built before this requirement and make all public spaces as welcoming and supportive of families as possible.

“I am also conscious that small businesses in particular are facing rising costs, so I don’t want this issue to be an additional financial burden on them.

“We need to look at a grant that would cover the cost of any necessary changing facilities for all bathrooms. I have written to the Ministers for Health, Children Housing, and Enterprise to ask that dedicated funding is considered and that a timeline for installation is included as part of any grant provided.

“In the grand scheme of things, we aren’t talking about a significant amount of money but the positive impact it would have for families and parents would be immeasurable. I look forward to working further with my government colleagues to progress this as soon as possible”, concluded Deputy Ward.