John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is hard to know where to start. I was at the eye of that storm when it broke on 26 and 27 February 2013. I remember having a conversation with the Minister of State's predecessor at the time, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I know where I was when she phoned me, and I know I did not say very much to her other than to say that I was as sour as I had ever been in my whole life. I will explain the reason for that.

This programme, as has been mentioned by Minister of State, Deputy McGrath, goes back to 1979. Would the Minister of State agree that while we had no language in 1979 such as "money follows the person" or "person-centred services", this scheme was the simplest, most effective and most efficient way of putting some money into some people's pockets that they could use in a variety of ways to make themselves more mobile? They could give their brother money to pay the car tax and insurance, they could get hackneys, or they could do various things. It was an absolute model of money following the person and person-centredness. Then came the day when the whole pack of cards came tumbling down as a result of a decision by the Government that it needed to be abolished for, of all things, equality reasons.

I should say I was a member of the review group that was set up. Deputy Mitchell referred to the time that has elapsed since. I am very clear that we were press-ganged to get on with that work and get it done within, if not in weeks, then a number of months. That happened. That review group was chaired by a former senior civil servant, Ms Sylda Langford, who had worked in the equality side of things. She was woman with a very strong reputation and, if I am not mistaken, was involved in the development of the Equal Status Acts. That group did its work in a number of months and was under pressure to have it ready for the interdepartmental group that was, as referred to in the Minister of State's note, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. Give or take a month or so, in the autumn of 2013 that matter passed to an interdepartmental working group chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. We are here still. In fairness to the Minister of State's responses to other members, he is not in a position to give us comfort that we will not be here for some time to come.

I have a number of particular questions that I want to put to the Minister of State. Before I do that, Deputy Cassells mentioned current issues around public transport in the Meath area. I am thinking of the 109 route that goes from Cavan to Dublin and back. I know one young woman of 20 years of age who, three times within the past month, despite having done all that she was required to do, such as ringing up whoever she had to ring, giving notice, and this, that and the other, could not get the bus from a town in Cavan down to Busaras and back, even though it is an accessible fleet of buses and the two stations at both ends of the journey are accessible. This is a really interesting issue for a petitions committee. That young woman is going to third level, and there is a more general point in this in that, to put it in economic terms, this is somebody in whose education the State has invested, and rightly so. She has been able to go to mainstream primary and secondary school, and she has been supported to go to third level. Now she is in her final year and is striking out to do interviews, make pitches and progress her career. With her hand on her heart, she cannot say she will be in a specific office or location for a meeting or interview.

There is a real edge to this. The Minister of State spoke about the most needy who are in crisis. In sporting terms, I would regard that as the ambition of a manager who just does not want to lose by an awful lot. The Minister of State mentioned the most needy, those in crisis and those with health requirements. People have mobility issues in the context of attending health appointments. The Minister of State is correct - Ministers and officials never tire of telling us how much is being spent on disability. The issue is the value of the spend to those with disabilities. Services such as transport impact on education, training, employment, social participation and - an issue raised by other members - social isolation.

When was the Department of Health first advised - verbally and then in writing - about the issues with the mobility allowance and the motorised transport scheme by the ombudsman? Sin an chéad cheist.

We are told that there were 4,700 people on the schemes and that the officials are working on the figures for the numbers availing of the current iteration of the scheme. How many people who would have been eligible under the previous terms relating to the scheme are now in limbo because they have not been have not been able to join the current iteration of the scheme since February 2013? Whether the number is ten, 300 or 1,000, these people are losing out because the scheme has been put on hold. It is fair to say that those who availed of the scheme remained in it. People had submitted applications, but they were not met. Other people would have applied since. Do the officials have a guesstimate of how many new applicants would be availing of the scheme if it had continued? I know some people would have died and would no longer be in the scheme.

Did the Department investigate the options available under the Equality Act to deal with the issues arising in respect of the scheme? Did the officials look at the opportunities the Equality Act would have afforded them to deal with the issue? Could the Department of Health have legislated for the scheme, to take it from the rules applying to administrative schemes? My understanding is that legislation would have allowed the issues to be dealt with adequately. Did the Department seek advice from the Office of the Ombudsman. Did that office offer any advice as to how the matter might be dealt with or how the Department could get further advice on dealing with it?

This Bill is on the legislative programme. For how long was it on the legislative programme prior to the current session?

My next point is tangential but it goes to the heart of the issue about the lack of accessible public transport. Recent changes in the notice period that wheelchair users must give to Bus Éireann means that 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon is now the cut off time for a person who wishes to travel on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Bus Éireann has extended the time notice of 24 hours to 48 hours for those who use the service Monday to Friday. No announcement of this change was made either in public or through the disability organisations. It is possible that the Minister of State will not be able to respond to this immediately but it shows how the service is related to other provisions for the disabled.

I have heard rumours of the minimum and maximum cost of the new scheme. I will not mention them. The Minister of State made a point of noting how this could impact on negotiations. In the context of the amount the Minister of State is seeking - which is possibly contested by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform - how would that translate in terms of the scope of the scheme and the numbers would could avail of it. What criteria would apply to the scheme if the Minister of State were to get what he is seeking, particularly in the context of the number of people with disabilities who would be able to avail of it.