Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Of course. The figure for the mobility allowance is 4,700 recipients, and the figure for the motorised transport grant is 300 applications per year. If we were to comply, the mobility allowance figure would increase to 63,500 recipients and the figure for the motorised transport grant recipients would increase to 19,250 per year. There is a different application system for the motorised transport grant. Under the current scheme one is entitled to change one's car only every three years but that three year rolling process gives us 300 every year, and the number of recipients would increase to 19,250. People understand the difficulties.

In terms of the steps we will take, we have been looking at this and had come up with different formulas along the way, all of which, once we examined them, had significant flaws and had to be removed. It is not as if we have not been looking at this issue; we have.

Despite the fact that we know the number of people in receipt of that allowance it is very difficult to know where those people are and their circumstances in terms of access to transport. We are very conscious that someone who is not mobile but who might use one of the big chairs, for example, may have a transport system outside their front door that they can use, but equally they could have a transport system outside their front door that they cannot use. All of that configuration is important and must be taken into account but we intend to bring in someone to take a serious look, and we are not talking about big numbers, at where these people are, their circumstances, the possibility of putting a different scheme in place and so on. Someone with an expertise in the area and who knows how the system works will look at putting a scheme in place that will benefit people. We will be asking that person to have in-depth consultation with people with disabilities.

There are probably solutions that we have not thought of and it is only the lived experience that will give us that type of feel for the work. I hope that answers some of the Deputy's questions and that he understands the complexity of what we are trying to do.