Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. I had hoped to speak to Ms Murray as well. I welcome Mr. Moran, who spoke of inequality. People who require wheelchair access are denied it on a daily basis because prior notice is required. When Bus Éireann's chief executive officer appeared before the committee, I asked how many times people requiring disability access were let down in 2017. Bearing in mind that he knew the type of meeting he would be attending and the issues being addressed, he did not have that information with him. I thought that was telling in itself. We were to be furnished it immediately after the meeting. It was almost a fortnight after the meeting before we got the response.

The response itself is equally telling. It is just one line. It says there were ten official complaints received in 2017 related to issues with wheelchair accessibility. I know of more than ten myself in one small corner of the State. One may wonder what credence, focus or attention the providers are giving to the official complaints being made and what mechanism they have for recording them. The response that there were ten complaints throughout 2017 speaks volumes when each member knows people who have complained multiple times of being denied access to a service.

Bus Éireann said it had a disability access and information officer. That was the first I heard of it. I spoke to other people in Louth and they were not aware of it either. I asked whether the phone number of that person be displayed in public areas, for example, at bus stops. People could then ring directly if they were left at the side of the road if a driver pulled up and said he or she was not qualified to operate the lift and the bus did not have a low floor. The answer was no but that it might be looked at again. It was more or less an internal number. Nobody in the public domain knew there was an officer there who could be contacted directly.

That shows the focus. Bus Éireann also said that its last audit was in 2013, five years ago, and that it is almost completed. What does that tell us? I acknowledge that it is public transport and we all know it has been starved of funding. The subvention was cut year on year and it is not much improved. What pressure is the Minister applying on the public transport network to make sure that people requiring disability access have it. I understand from a report in the press that at the launch of disability access on the DART, two wheelchair users were left on the platform. The Minister was not there either. This all speaks volumes.

I raised another issue at one of the other meetings. Private transport companies awarded public contracts by the State have no legal obligation to provide wheelchair accessibility despite providing a public contract on a public route. That is something we must ensure changes as well. I am sorry I missed Ms Murray. I have read Mr. Moran's report and thank him for coming.