Mr. Ciarán Delaney:

Local authorities need to start working to make all bus stops wheelchair accessible. It is up to the elected representatives to make this happen. There are elections next year and here is a statistic all elected members need to consider. The most recent census put the number of disabled people at 643,131, which, multiplied by three, makes for 1.92 million votes. The disabled community has learned from recent campaigns and we will hold the political establishment to account.

There is no excuse for not making all taxis wheelchair accessible. If the NTA requires that by a certain date all taxis must be wheelchair accessible as they are in London, either the operator complies with it or hands back the licence. Last weekend our good friend, Padraic Moran, had an issue with a taxi driver who did not want to carry Gail, his assistance dog. One of the factors in Mr. Moran not bringing Gail is that every time Gail sees the Chairman, she makes a beeline for him because she knows she will get a hidden treat from him. When I rang the NTA taxi consumer line, I was informed that there is no statutory obligation on a taxi driver to take an assistance dog. A driver can refuse access or could fine the passenger by imposing a soil charge.

It is only since my community has had Senator John Dolan in the Upper House that there has been some change in attitude. That, combined with a Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, who actually cares about us and is trying to undo the years of lack of investment and priority, seems to have given them the necessary jolt to force them on to the accessibility and integration route - pardon the pun.

The three chief executives now know what they will be facing if they do not start putting inclusivity and accessibility to the top of their agendas. They also know that they will have disabled directors to answer to shortly.

The Minister has been brilliant in dealing with us. He has taken the time to listen and act on the issues for our community. Dermot O’Leary from the NBRU is extremely supportive and has become a firm friend. It would be very remiss of me not to mention, John Moloney who has recently retired from Bus Éireann. He is a legend in his own lifetime. He and his colleagues have done valuable work for people in the disabled community, especially within the COPE foundation. John Buttimer, brother of the Leader of the Seanad, Senator Buttimer, works there.

I will conclude by posing a question to the Chairman and members of the committee. Do any of them know how the RSA's certificate of professional competence for buses module describes people with disabilities? We are people with peculiarities. That is what it taught to all professional bus drivers. I will read it out:

Objective: ability to ensure passenger comfort and safety... managing conflicts between safe driving and other roles as a driver, interacting with passengers, peculiarities of certain groups of passengers (disabled persons, children).

I offer my thanks to Paul Kelly. Etaoine Howlett and Jo Curran went above and beyond the call of duty as regards Padraic Moran and Alannah Murray. Padraic was extremely nervous and asked me to pass his particular thanks to Etaoine for the way she took care of Padraic and Gail. Jo has been fantastic. I thank Paul for his help. I wanted to place that on the record.