Dr. Ambrose McLoughlin:

I assure the Deputy that the Department of Health has serious regard for the legal rights of people with disabilities. We are informed by the national disability strategy and the Disability Act 2005. We consistently seek to put their rights at the forefront of our policies and their implementation by the HSE. The recently published value for money and policy review of disability services puts the implementation of new person-centred approaches to service delivery at the centre. We are concerned about our clients and we want to be helpful and supportive of them. Unfortunately, the evolution of specific aspects of policy and their implementation has not always been consistent with wider legal development, and legacy issues can arise from time to time. In that regard the points made in the document, Too Old to be Equal? A Follow-up, about addressing the upper age limit for the motorised transport grant in 2008 and its implications for the age limit in the mobility allowance scheme are noted. However, in addressing these issues the Department has had to have regard to the best use of available resources and to ensuring that those resources are targeted at those most in need of assistance, including people with disabilities who have mobility and transport issues.

There have been major developments since the introduction of both schemes, which I believe are relevant to the discussion: free public transport for people with disabilities and a companion; improved accessibility of public transport; tax concessions for drivers, passengers and voluntary groups; a rural transport programme that provides a total of 1.2 million passenger journeys annually; funding from the State for Vantastic and similar schemes in the Dublin region; transport provided by voluntary service providers funded by the HSE, St. Michael's House, the Irish Wheelchair Association and Muscular Dystrophy Ireland. There has been an evolving service environment, to the benefit of people with disability.

We have a difficult challenge here and we are working to try to solve it. However, it is not simple, and we will be happy to take the advice of this committee and, indeed, the Ombudsman on this matter.