Mr. Peter Gohery:

It would be better if we were to do it from the start. I was an able-bodied person for 42 years and overnight, my whole life changed and I became disabled. We have been talking about discrimination, and an example of that is looking for a loan for a prosthetic leg. A friend went into the bank to look for such a loan. He wanted €20,000. The bank told him it would not lend him that money but would lend him the money for a new car. How is he going to get around?

There is also discrimination around employment. I went back to college from 2014 to 2016 to get a degree in health and safety. Now I can see the importance of health and safety and can drive the message home. However, the degree I was not good enough. When applying for jobs, I have been told I am too qualified or not qualified enough. This shows that because I have a disability, an organisation could say that it did not need me and I could not say anything to it.

I gave a guy good money to do up a CV for me. He said, "Pete, it is your disability that is discriminating against you." That is going on wholesale out there. The sad part about it is clear when we look at the invalidity pension. People have to be out of work for a year to qualify for it. If a person takes up employment, he or she no longer qualifies. The person might not be suited to that employment and could be let go within six months or two years, or after the probation period. That person will then have to wait a year again to qualify for the invalidity pension. How will people survive in that situation? It is unfair.

My last point relates to Dublin Bus. Before buying new buses, the company did not talk to any DPOs or any person with a disability, including wheelchair users. Some of the new buses are totally inaccessible for wheelchair users. That is a disgrace. The Oireachtas is the organ grinder; its Members are in control of the money. Dublin Bus should be dancing to their tune, not the other way around.