Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Tyndall and it is a privilege to have him here on his final day in office. I wish him the very best of luck and I also wish his successor the very best of luck. I hope we will not need to have him before us to discuss another report on unmet needs. I hope we will use all of the reports to make the changes necessary to ensure we have full access for all of our citizens, friends and family to the services we have in this country.

Mr. Tyndall knows as well as all of us there is such inequity and it is heartbreaking to hear the stories. I see family members stopped in their tracks because of an inaccessible bus or train. It is so common. Deputy Tully asked what the Department is doing. Everyone on the committee is impatient. We were impatient with Ms Emily O'Reilly's report and we are still here waiting for the Department. I do not know whether the Department is waiting for the Indecon report or the structures to implement the UNCRPD. There is always procrastination as it waits for a next step to be done before taking a step that should have already been taken.

What does Mr. Tyndall think is the problem with this clear inability of the Department to push it down the road? It recognises there is a problem and perhaps a small pilot programme is done. What is the mindset in the Department that it does not see this as we see it, that it is unacceptable to block our family members, neighbours and communities from accessing what we take for granted? I am so infuriated by this. Mr. Tyndall's report is excellent and I learned a lot from it. What is his opinion on why things are so bad and why the can is kicked down the road repeatedly?