Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In the time available I will focus on two aspects of disability and the issues around it. As Deputy Murphy O'Mahony noted of the disabled drivers and passengers scheme, more than 40% of the applicants for the scheme are being rejected. Numerous people have come into my constituency office who have applied for the scheme. They are genuine applicants. The criteria and assessment of this scheme must be reviewed because a rejection rate of 40% is unacceptable. The scheme must be reviewed urgently and its criteria reviewed so that it operates fairly and that more people qualify for the assistance they need.

Children are queuing for assessments and many assessments are overdue. Some 75% of children who applied in 2017 are outside the protocol under the Disability Act. In my county alone, 144 children are waiting to be assessed. I have a letter here from the mother of one of those children, Niall. His parents are experiencing considerable frustration and anxiety, as they are sent on roundabout after roundabout trying to have their child assessed. Having failed through other routes, they thought that they would be able to get it done through his school but they were told that the school was allocated four assessments each year in September, and that they would have to wait until the next September before the school had any more places for assessment.

The Minister of State needs to examine this. More resources must be put in place. It is not acceptable to have 75% of applicants waiting outside protocol.

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