Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise this very serious matter because it has been described as a bolt out of the blue by various representatives of people with disabilities. I am very concerned at the direction the Department of Health is taking in the area of disability. There has been a recent history of direct attack on funding of disability services and supports for people with disability. Last year the Minister for Health blamed the troika for taking €10 million out of the budget and reducing personal assistance, the home helps. While we accept that there is a difficulty because the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant do not comply with the equal status legislation we cannot accept its arbitrary removal with nothing to replace it.

There were no consultations or discussions with representatives of the disability groups and no contact with the individuals in receipt of the mobility allowance or applicants for the motorised transport grant. This is having a devastating impact on people and their quality of life. These people normally live on disability benefit or allowance of approximately €190 per week. The mobility allowance, means-tested, at a maximum €208 a month meant that these people had some independence. They could get out and about and go to dental or doctors' appointments and live a reasonably independent life. This will stop them dead in their tracks. Is there no way of carrying out the review as was committed to and promised? We do not know where that particular review is but we do know that the grants have been scrapped and they will have a huge impact on the quality of life of individuals who depend on this mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant.

The Government talks about ring-fencing but this issue was known for some time. The Ombudsman formally notified the Department in April 2011 that it was in breach of the Equality Act and that certain measures had to be taken to change and bring it into compliance. Even in the Ombudsman's press release yesterday she states that it is "most regrettable" that the Department of Health failed to find a solution to address the problem surrounding the mobility allowance scheme and the motorised transport grant scheme and that the Government has now chosen to discontinue them. The Ombudsman says it is "most regrettable" but I can assure the Minister of State that people who depend on the mobility grants find it very regrettable because this is a direct attack on people with disabilities. The grants enabled them to live independent lives in their communities and function and play a meaningful role in society.

This decision must be reversed, a scheme must be put in place that complies with the Equal Status Act but at the same time does not discriminate and does not mean that people with disabilities will find it harder to have independence and a good quality of life. This is a shameful decision. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, agonised over it. She said she did but the people who will agonise most will be those who find that in four months' time the mobility allowance is gone completely and those who apply for it or for the motorised transport grant will find that they have been discontinued. This decision must be reversed and some method of review brought about to ensure that these schemes comply with the equal status legislation.

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