Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his address and for the clear commitments he has made in his Department to provide additional funding and so on. Before I call the members in the rotation which we normally agree, one important issue was raised today by Padraic Moran, who met the Minister last week. A key point he made was that he has requested on at least three separate occasions to meet the chief executive of Irish Rail to make a significant contribution outlining his experiences and how he has been dealt with. He further elaborated here today that there are many issues about which he has serious concerns. Will the Minister use his good offices - we will also be using ours and we will write separately on this - to ask the chief executive to meet with Mr. Moran urgently to discuss these issues.

Our two witnesses today starkly and clearly outlined their concerns and the members might also like to comment on this. A lady who has a disability has been let down by a State provider 20 times. It is an appalling, disgraceful and a shameful situation and no fine words will paper over the lack of commitment to provide a place for a person who has notified a transport provider they intend to use its transport. This lady gave not 24 hours notice but 48 hours notice, but there was not a place for her. There should be a requirement on a transport provider when it is notified, notwithstanding the fact that people should not have to do this at all, to provide wheelchair accessible transport for that person to travel to where they wish to go if the provider fails to provide a space on public transport for them. That is very important and the Minister might comment on that.

Where a transport user who has a disability wishes to board a bus at a particular location - as we were told, this lady could not board a bus in Virginia and had to get her father to drive her to Cavan - there should be an obligation on the transport provider that if a transport user designates the nearest point to them and it is not accessible, the transport provider would provide proper and appropriate transport to the first available location nearest to where the transport user lives where it can be provided. This is a denial of fundamental human rights. I accept and acknowledge the Minister's commitment in that area, but it angers me that we have all this fine talk but we do not have the fine action that is needed. We have transport companies which are treating people with contempt. I call Senator O'Mahony to be followed by Senator Feighan.