Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic for debate. The matter I want to raise directly relates to the public consultation process on the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant. It is very timely because the consultation process closes today. I am very concerned about this and believe we should extend it by at least a week. As everybody in the House is aware, the payment was removed very suddenly in February after concerns the scheme did not comply with the Equal Status Acts. In my constituency of Waterford 128 people were in receipt of this payment in 2011, the year for which the most recent figures are available. However small the number of people in receipt of this payment was, it made a huge positive impact on their lives. I am very concerned about the public consultation process to date and the review to put an alternative in place.

The Minister of State is aware the process closes today, and my colleague Deputy Ann Phelan and I are very concerned about the wider level of the awareness of this fact. In a reply to a parliamentary question the Minister stated he instructed the HSE to contact each individual in receipt of the payments to notify them of this decision. I am not aware that this happened. I gather the forms were placed on the Internet in recent weeks. Surely given the level and range of disability experienced by these citizens, individuals should have been contacted directly by post in a timely manner. Deputy Phelan will elaborate further on representations she has received in her office.

The disgraceful language used in the form is also of huge concern to me, particularly with regard to question three which asks applicants to rank the listed criteria in order of importance to determine eligibility for any new solution to support an individual's transport needs. For want of a better word it asks people which disabilities are more deserving than others. To my mind this is a disgraceful way to embark on a public consultation. Given there are questions with regard to the Equal Status Acts, to use this type of system is itself very questionable.

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