Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned regarding the Minister's correspondence. The committee did excellent work compiling a report on what needs to be done to make the public transport system more accessible to people with disabilities and mobility issues. The Minister gave a clear commitment when he came to the launch of that report that in order to ensure the recommendations were implemented in an efficient and timely manner that we would set in stone dates for when he would appear before the committee and answer questions on the implementation of the recommendations. He agreed to that and now the only reason he is not accepting the invitation to be here today is because there is no progress and he has nothing to update us on. He is seeking an extra month in order to buy himself time. Great credit is due to all the committee members who played a full part in producing that report and also all the stakeholders who took time out and the advocates for people with disabilities who appeared before the committee and participated in this process. It is very wrong for the Minister not to have accepted the invitation to appear today. We should write back to him outlining my concern over his non-appearance today.