Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government commits to targeted improvements in public services with a particular focus on disability issues. It also commits to ensuring that transport service provision for people with disabilities is fit for purpose and consistent with their needs, yet Bus Éireann's brand new, state-of-the-art city buses are actually less accessible for wheelchair users than the older buses they have replaced. My colleague, Deputy Munster, raised serious accessibility concerns about the new single-decker buses last year but her warnings fell on deaf ears. There was no engagement with disability groups in advance of introducing the fleet and we have also learned that the buses have not been built to Irish standards. I commend the campaigning work of a young man called Karl Cretzan, whom I met earlier in the week in Waterford. Karl is a wheelchair user and has been to the fore in highlighting the shortfalls of this new fleet. On Karl's behalf and on behalf of all of our citizens with disabilities who rely on public transport, I ask the Taoiseach what he and his Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport are going to do to rectify the inaccessibility of this new fleet of buses.

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