John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to attend the committee. I welcome Mr. Barry and the opportunity to engage with him. My interest as a Senator, first thing in the morning and last thing at night, is the inclusion of people with disabilities. That is the mandate I sought and, thankfully, the mandate I got. We have a public sector duty on foot of equality legislation to provide public services for all of the public. Ireland has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and it is intended to ratify that. It copperfastens the public sector duty towards people with disabilities. The convention contains articles on free and easy access to public transport in all its different domains and modalities. That is where I am coming from.

Like other Members of the Oireachtas, I receive contact regarding, and am very much aware from my work of, issues people with disabilities experience on a pretty constant basis, without over-egging it, of failing to access public transport, whether it is taxis, city bus services, regional bus services and trains. Buses in particular are an issue, including the national bus fleet, Dublin Bus and contracted services. The first and foremost obligation of the chairman of the NTA is around the governance of the organisation. I am clearly stating that part of that governance and its linchpin is that it is a public service for all of the public. It is a stretch to provide that but it is a commitment we have made and, in any event, it is what public services are supposed to be about. I am concerned that places outside Dublin - beyond the Pale, to use that old term - do not get a fair shake when it comes to public transport. There is the issue of the quantum of it but there is also a requirement for the NTA to ensure that it is even handed when making decisions to improve services for people with disabilities.

A young woman of 20, who is a wheelchair user, has come to me. She went through all her schooling and has been supported to go to college. In fairness, the State has put a decent investment into her education. The fly in the ointment for her is that 20 times in 2017 alone, having booked and given advance notice, she was let down either on the outward journey or on the way back. She cannot put her hand on her heart and say to a prospective employer or place where she is doing a project that she will be there for an interview. Mr. Barry knows exactly what I am saying. My point is that public transport is not an either-or thing. It stands between that young woman and the possibility of a future. She either goes one way or back the other way. I am not trying to nag, but it is a critical issue for people. I have given just one example but there are many others. That is why I am passionate and strong about this.

During the Bus Éireann strike earlier this year, Bus Éireann took services off three routes. The National Transport Authority told the world there was no problem with that and sufficient service was provided by private licensed operators. An issue that we stumbled on in this committee-----