John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be quite brief. I thank the Minister for his presentation, being frank and acknowledging the need for more funding. He also acknowledged the frustration he feels as a result of the slow progress being made. The committee is frustrated as well but how small is that in comparison with the people trying to access the system? That is key. We need solutions. I acknowledge and applaud the Minister's announcement of his desire to put people with disabilities on boards. As he said, that is where the decisions are made and it is a solution.

A matter was raised earlier, and it is the individual cases that nail home this issue. Ms Murray described crawling onto a bus in Virginia, so the rural and urban divide was covered in this respect. Would the Minister be prepared at some stage to make an unannounced journey along with either Ms Murray or Mr. Moran? They kept articulating an issue with the system so would the Minister experience it for himself along with them? There were helpful individuals along the way. When the Minister responsible for transport is making the trip, perhaps some extra effort would be made. I do not know. It would be a real signal on the part of the Minister and the Government to state this will stop and that the Minister wished to experience these issues personally. We heard the words this morning but the Minister could go on the journey to experience the frustrations and difficulties these people have. While the Minister has a busy schedule, if he could do that at some stage, it would mean a huge amount to the people experiencing difficulty.