Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach knows, I have raised with him several times in the past few years the question of the restoration of the mobility allowance. As a man of humanity, he will appreciate that the continued denial of the mobility allowance to perhaps tens of thousands of people who should qualify for it throughout the country is both cruel and unfair. He promised me several times that action was imminent. In fact, he wrote to me on a number of occasions about the matter. He also got the Minister for Health to write to me. The letter, dated 23 November 2015 stated: "We fully acknowledge the protracted period since the scheme was first highlighted. However, we believe significant progress has been made and we look forward to the completion of this work shortly. This will allow the Minister to bring proposals to Government in the coming weeks." That was 18 months ago. As the Taoiseach faces the final curtain, will he use his influence to have the legislation published? There are thousands upon thousands of people depending on restoration of the scheme.

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