Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dylan, Niamh, Padraic, Saoirse and Ciarán for their input. There is absolutely no doubt, from much of what they have said, that people have been let down badly, particularly those working in the disability sector and those who are disabled. I listened to the witnesses' stories. Each tells us what is happening to people on the ground. It is quite disturbing. We do not have all the answers. I am not going to say that when the witnesses leave, things are going to change dramatically, because it is not going to happen like that. It will happen over a period, I hope. This committee is doing much to try to put pressure on to make things happen and foster change. I hope that will happen.

Mr. Nelson mentioned the wheelchair and its range. It just shows the lack of foresight. He has a 7 km range and has to charge up the wheelchair, which takes time. The witnesses mentioned issues about buses, which have been raised here a number of times. There are issues with spaces and with people coming to bus stops and being turned away because the space has been used up. This has been mentioned here many times.

I am particularly concerned about matters relating to housing. This is obviously a problem for everyone. In new housing schemes, there should be quotas for people with disabilities. It is never targeted in the local authorities when schemes are being built. There should be specific targets for individuals who require special adaptations or whatever. The local authorities should be doing that.

Mr. Moran mentioned that the law was changed for people with disabilities who were starting work, which allows them to be assessed for disability allowance at a reduced rate. Their medical cards continue for three years and the travel pass continues for five. What happens after that? It is really unfair. Disability does not go away; it is still there. The committee made a recommendation that people on disability allowance should be judged on disability, not on earnings or otherwise. A disability does not just go away. I would like to hear some comment on that.

Ms Smith referred to accessibility. That is a major problem. In particular, she mentioned old buildings, cellars, and places like that where she would work and need access. We need to continue to address this with the local authorities and others. Many of these places do not have toilets or anything like that, which is absolutely appalling.

I was caught by what Ms Kilcawley said about exams. When it came to doing exams, there were about ten extra minutes per hour. To me, ten minutes is damn all to allow someone to finish. There would be someone to assist in that. Will she give us an idea of how bad that is and how that affects her?

Mr. Delaney talked about the budget. We need to focus on the budget, what way it is directed and how it is being utilised. He mentioned legislation which is needed. We have still not dealt with the optional protocol. We have signed up to the UNCRPD but we still have not signed up a really important protocol and completed that legislation. It looks like that will drag on a bit. Maybe Mr. Delaney can tell us what he thinks with regard to that. I feel I would have been insulted in Mr. Delaney's position. I probably never even thought about it when the pandemic was happening and the €350 was given out to people, when Mr. Delaney was receiving €203 or whatever. If that was what the Government judged that people could live on, why are people on disability allowance being asked to live on the amount they receive? It just does not make sense. I would like to accept the invitation to look at the new buses, trains and so on to see what can be done.

I would like to hear some more about things that affect the witnesses directly. We do not often get a chance to do so. We get many of the different networks, the HSE and so on coming in, but we never hear directly about what is happening. It really is an eye-opener.