Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for not being here earlier but I have the opening statement and I will read the transcript.

We need a universally accessible transport system, whether a person is in a wheelchair, pushing a buggy or mobility or visually impaired. That should be the object of the exercise as a right.

Part of the reason we are doing this exercise is the European directive that requires us to change our habits. Many of the progressive and positive changes that have happened especially from a social perspective - leaving aside the banking issue - have come from the European Union. It has forced us to do things that we should do as a matter of course. I was a member of the Dublin Transportation Initiative back in the early 1990s. Essentially, it focused on Dublin and the surrounding counties but we were looking at developing transport policy and the issue of disabilities was very much part of the policy being talked about at that time. I refer to the visual and audio information on trains and buses, the wheelchair accessible low floor buses and we have bought a lot of stock since then. I am concerned about the rail service. Trains last a long time and even if we buy in new trains, some of the carriages from the older trains will not have been designed with low floors and other adaptions for the disabled. It is a case of moving quickly to a point where one does not have to give notice that one will travel and one can act as an independent person and get on a bus or train.

As I see it, the witnesses must tell us what they want us to do. They have set out in their statement what is wrong and what needs to be put right. Some of it will come down to members of the committee making recommendations in the report to be written by the committee. We should really be putting timelines on it in order that we see the changes happening as quickly as they possibly can. If there are points that are not covered already in respect of things that can be done in the short or medium term, it would be useful to hear them.

There is no doubt that there have been changes since the issue started to be considered. I do not think that really happened in any serious way until the 1990s but we have not embedded it into the thinking of people, when we are buying rolling stock or are designing stations, to automatically consider what is needed. I think the new stations are different but retrofitting the older stations is a bigger issue. I understand the directive mainly deals with rail transport but obviously taxis and buses are critical to many as well.

If the witnesses have any requests, in addition to the points raised in the opening statement, as well as timelines or changes that would be practical, it would be useful to hear them. It is the practical changes that will make a difference, as well as the change in culture.