Mr. Damien Douglas:

There were a few things in all of that and I probably will not get to all of them. We have spoken about the needs of people with disabilities and their needs for transport and how bad that it and how important it is to have a grant of some kind that allows a vehicle to be purchased, made accessible and then to be run. The primary medical certificate is very restrictive. You have to have either no use of your hands or legs, have only one arm or one leg or be a dwarf, because you cannot reach, to qualify. I am not being funny there. If you are 7 ft. 6 in. and are totally disabled, you do not qualify because you have the use of your hands and legs. If you have severe intellectual disability but you can walk and talk, you do not qualify or your mother does not qualify on your behalf, which is a huge anomaly. We are looking at the needs of the people with disabilities themselves and at the needs of those who care for them, which is where I come in to it. My girls cannot go out on their own. They can do nothing for themselves. Many people with disabilities need a considerable amount of care and assistance and, in the main, that is provided by their families or by other professional caregivers. The people with the disabilities themselves are not able to do it. Likewise with disabled drivers, those adaptations they need are essential to give them the mobility and the independence they need. We know approximately only one third of carers get the carers allowance and that is because of means testing. Two thirds are probably working and that disqualifies them. Any changes or cost involved have to be met from their means. Those who qualify for the carers allowance, and we are very grateful for it for those who do, are still means tested and means limited. This means a person does not have a huge bank account or money in their back pocket to provide, for example, the €50,000 for the van we needed.

Mr. Fox mentioned the importance of the grant initially, in that it gave families a lift up towards the purchase of a van. Every two or three years when the van was replaced, the amount to be covered was less. The value of the van was such that the amount to be paid for a new vehicle was less, in that the resale value was good. This is only if you are lucky enough to be able to get an appropriate vehicle.

In regard to public transport, I live in Lucan and if I want to go into town with my two girls on what used be the 25A bus, but which is now the C1 or C2, I cannot do so because no bus will take two wheelchairs. That is the reality. For family days out, if we did not have a vehicle, we would be stuck at home or have a nice long walk into the Phoenix Park, which is not manageable. If I want to get a taxi, I can get a wheelchair taxi fairly easily but no wheelchair taxi will take two wheelchairs. There is a dearth of availability there, never mind the difficulty trying to get a wheelchair taxi on occasion, even in Lucan. Lucan Disability Action Group will provide transport but you have to book it well in advance and most times it is not available because they are already providing transport on a contractual basis to other families or other services such as to Stewarts or St. John of God. When you need them, those vehicles are not always available. If you are trying to organise your life around a time that suits your family, you are banjaxed. I thank the members for listening to me.