Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network. The NTA works with the relevant public transport operators responsible for day-to-day operational issues to make public transport accessible. The Department of Transport and its agencies are progressively making public transport accessible for all, and especially for persons with disabilities, in both urban and rural areas. This is being done by ensuring new infrastructure and services are accessible from the start and by retrofitting older infrastructure and facilities to make them accessible for persons with disabilities, persons with reduced mobility and older people. The Department provides dedicated, ring-fenced funding to the NTA for its multi-annual public transport accessibility programme.

In addition, through the funding from the Department of Transport, the NTA provides a gamut of supports to assist persons with disabilities to travel independently on public transport. For example, the travel assistance scheme provides assistance for people who need it to use public transport or plan journeys on Dublin Bus, Luas, Go-Ahead and DART services. It is a free service run by Dublin Bus and is available within the greater Dublin area for people aged 18 and over.

In addition, the just a minute, JAM, card has been available for use on public transport services since 2019 and enables people with a communication barrier to tell others discreetly and easily that they need just a minute. Furthermore, disability awareness training is provided by all public transport operators to their staff to assist persons with disabilities to travel on public transport services.

I am aware of the concerns outlined in the report on the cost of transport for persons with disabilities, which are primarily related to more personalised or individualised transport requirements, which in many cases have an important role to play. Of course, specialised non-public door-to-door services do not form part of the public transport sector for which the Department of Transport has statutory responsibility.

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