John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to hone in on one sentence the Minister uttered. He said that ideally we could get to a position where people with disabilities will not need to give notice. However, the move towards unmanned DART stations will ensure that never happens. We need stations to be manned in order that disabled citizens can be assisted in getting on and off public transport. While the Minister may aspire to that, if the downgrading of our train or DART stations goes ahead, we will ensure that citizens will not get equal access to public transport. There is real concern about this. I am hearing from staff in Iarnród Éireann that this is a done deal.

There is talk of letting out the train station in Greystones to commercial interests. I would argue that the space there is not available at the moment because it is used as staff quarters. The company is moving quite swiftly towards converting it to an unmanned station. What other DART stations are being looked at in this regard? Has consultation taken place, particularly with disability organisations? There is concern about this matter. Sydney Parade Station services St. Vincent's Hospital and we know there are no direct buses from Wicklow that serve the hospital. The DART is the only public transport available in this regard. If that station is not manned, people with disabilities will be disenfranchised; they will not be able to get to St. Vincent's. Sandymount Station services the Enable Ireland premises that houses a school for disabled children. If that station is not manned, there are going to be problems.

Ideally, there should be no notice period. What specific consultations have taken place with Iarnród Éireann?

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