Dr. Amie Lajoie:

The Deputy has hit the nail on the head. In the responses to the survey we issued to the local services I was struck by the number of people working in rural areas such as Sligo, Donegal and Mayo who highlighted over and over again the importance of these types of supports to allow their clients with disabilities to access meaningful transport. One of the issues for clients is they must have some money up front in order to access the service. They must be able to afford a car in the first instance to get access to this specific scheme, which is a marked difference from the prior mobility allowance, which was a monthly payment.

There are still a number of people participating in that scheme. The Government closed that scheme to new applications in 2013 but we now have a two-tier system. A number of MABS clients would still be participating in the former scheme and a number who would have been eligible under former circumstances have been denied access to that scheme for a number of years. I know citizens information services have faced the same issues we have faced.

It is very important, when tackling it from that perspective, to consider whether the onus is on the individual to have access to disposable income in order to purchase a vehicle in the first instance or if we can do more to help that person from the other side of things. Would a one-off set payment, such as a mobility allowance, allow for that?

In respect of the data on our clients, we do not specifically track data on the number of persons with disabilities we have, which is why it was very important for us, in preparation for this meeting, to speak to money advisers and those on the coalface regarding this engagement with the committee in order to understand their experiences. One of the things that came back was that the clients with disabilities we work with are overwhelmingly reliant on the disability allowance and related supports as their number one source of income. If they are in employment, it is only for a few hours a week to supplement that income. As we know, the disability allowance is a very important measure. However, if someone is relying just on that to live, his or her income is very tight when it comes to access to additional disposable income for many things, such as participating in public life, social engagements and all of that. That is something we see.