Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. Many of the questions I had have been answered. As Deputy Cairns said, this is the Committee on Disability Matters. Our job is to oversee the implementation of the UNCRPD. With regard to transport, we have a responsibility for accessible transport, which is to ensure persons with disabilities have access on an equal basis with others and to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers. I feel frustration on many things. I feel that disability provision has been made a cherry on the cake, the best case scenario and not a default measure.

If it is possible, we will make it accessible. We will get there. I am frustrated that we are not getting there fast enough. All the members who sit on this committee have that frustration.

There a number of things I wish to highlight. I refer to the bus shelters. Have witnesses engaged with every local authority in the country to create the top 20? I can throw five or six examples at them from Louth. I can send an email about them after the meeting. Is there anything we can do at a national level to support the NTA, TII and local authorities in doing that? I accept that a bus shelter at every bus stop location along every boreen throughout the country is not possible or feasible, but we must work with what we have.

On the reliability of the bus service and the website, I have heard many stories of people who have been left at the side of the road in Kilbeggan. They were told the bus was coming but it did not. They were then told that they needed to call the operator and not to trust the website. We are encouraging people to use public transport, we are trying to provide accessibility for everyone in the country, yet there is a lack of reliability. Is it possible to get disability awareness training for all public transport staff? People do not look blind or visually impaired but, anecdotally, I have heard that they are often treated very rudely by people who do not understand the nuances of a certain disability.

There must be forward planning with regard to people with disabilities, but we must work on reducing the time taken for that forward planning. That adds in with what others have said about the fluidity of transport and being able to go from one mode of transport to another in order to get to a location. If a person is at a train station, he or she cannot see what train is coming next on the platform. I know of people who take photos on their phone so they can zoom in on it to see what platform they are on or how long it will take before the train arrives. What work has been done in assistive technology at bus stops and train stations? I found this engagement very worthwhile.