Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Regional Group for bringing forward this important and timely motion. The cost of disability report is a bleak overview of the increased annual financial burden that is associated with having a disability in Ireland. It costs between €9,500 and €11,700 more every year to live with a disability. To put this in context, the standard rate of disability allowance is €10,816 per annum. It barely covers the additional costs in most cases. Mobility, transport and communication represent almost one quarter of the extra expense. People who are blind or have a serious vision impairment have to pay €737 extra. For individuals with mobility difficulties it is €500, while for those with chronic illnesses it is between €600 and €735. That is money that is either difficult to afford or simply cannot be afforded.

I will focus on transport. From the outset, we should consider what transport represents. Transport is accessibility and independence. It provides disabled people with the freedom to make autonomous decisions about what they will do with their day.

Transport is employment. It helps people to get to, and retain, their jobs. Regrettably, we have one of the lowest rates of employment for disabled people in the EU and OECD. Transport is education. It allows people to get to college and school. A total of 13.7% of people with a disability aged 15 to 50 have not progressed beyond primary education and people with a disability are less likely to complete third-level education. Transport is being able to socialise. People with a disability are at risk of increased social isolation, especially in rural areas.

Transport is essential for independent living. It is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Successive Governments have failed individuals and families in exercising this right and it is having knock-on effects in employment, education, socialising and independence. This simply has to change.

The discontinuation of the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant for new applicants in 2013 was disgraceful in itself but it was supposed to be temporary. That no adequate replacement has been developed in the nine years since these schemes were closed is truly shocking. Responsibility for this lies with Fine Gael for the decision to end this important support and for the decision not to replace it for almost a decade. Many people with disabilities and support organisations expressed their concern in 2013 but the Government assured them this was only an interim measure and a replacement scheme would be provided. Nine years later, disabled people and their families are still waiting.

The Government has also created a deeply unfair situation whereby those already in receipt of these supports continue to receive them but others in exactly the same position cannot access these or alternative supports. This issue is yet another clear violation of individual rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is a violation of the right to equal access to transportation in Article 9 and to independent living in Article 19.

The then Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall, published a scathing report on this situation in November 2021 entitled "Grounded: unequal access for people with disabilities to personal transport schemes". This is unequivocal in its assessment that successive Governments have failed disabled people. In his conclusion, Mr. Tyndall wrote:

nine years later, there is no evidence of any real progress that would serve to enhance the lives of those for whom these schemes were intended to assist with their daily lives. This is of huge concern to me.

Schemes such as the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant are targeted supports that involve relatively small amounts in the scale of the national budget but can make a massive difference in the lives of individuals and their families. It is simply disgraceful and wrong that they have not been replaced.

The motion also calls for the primary medical certificate process to be reinstated and amended as it is not fit for purpose. The disabled drivers and passengers scheme provides for tax relief on adapted vehicles for disabled people, including children. It should be a simple and clear tool to help individuals and families be able to travel around safely. Instead, it is a bureaucratic and slow process that leaves people without suitable transport. It has extremely stringent criteria, such as the need to be without both hands or without both arms or without one or both legs, before access to the scheme can be granted. My colleague, Deputy Cairns, recently raised the issue of a young woman who had to have her hand amputated due to a rare form of cancer. This young woman, who is adjusting to a life-changing situation, quickly discovered that because she only lost one hand she would not be able to get a primary medical certificate to adapt her car. This has an impact on her ability to work, to care for her family and to live. It is grotesque how wrong it is.

It took a Supreme Court case for one family to get the scheme in 2020. It is a deeply flawed process. The recent resignation en masse of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal demonstrates this. The former board members had been calling for reform. The Government failed to act and they felt compelled to resign rather than continue to oversee such a flawed scheme.

The disabled drivers and passengers scheme remains rooted in a harmful medical-model understanding of disability. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Irish Government policy call for the social model approach that focuses on the person and changing structural barriers. The use of medical certificates and stringent criteria are not only antiquated, they are actively obstructing the independence and rights of disabled people. We need a system that is less concerned with exact medical and physiological issues and more with the individuals and how they can be empowered to live as independent a life as possible. We all know of cases where families have had to fundraise for adapted cars and vans for young children with disabilities. The State is failing these children and adults who are just looking for a fair shot at being able to get an adapted vehicle.

Our underinvestment in public transport is another issue when considering mobility. Many disabled people and others, including people who cannot afford a car and older people, rely on public transport. In urban areas, we need improved public transport infrastructure to cater for additional needs. The disability rights activists in Access for All regularly highlight issues. Its Twitter account daily shows lifts that are not working in DART and train stations. Yesterday there were eight such stations and there were seven on Monday. Even worse, people may not know in advance whether the lifts are functioning.

Rural areas require greater investment in Local Link services to provide an expanded timetable into evenings to combat rural isolation and loneliness, as well as ensuring that all minibuses are wheelchair accessible. There is a clear need for more sheltered bus stops. It is essential that people have a sheltered place to wait for the bus in wet Irish weather. This is as relevant for older people as it is for people with physical disabilities. However, the National Transport Authority, NTA, informed me that it only installs about 100 sheltered stops annually due to cost and complications with installing. Adding a sheltered stop is simple but has a big impact. Every neighbourhood, town, and village should have at least one.

In 2013, the Fine Gael Government should have immediately replaced the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant. The Government should have listened to the calls from disabled people and support organisations over the past nine years. The disabled drivers and passengers scheme should have been reformed years ago. The Cost of Disability in Ireland report should have been a wake-up call for the Government to the reality of living with a disability in Ireland. The Ombudsman’s report should have been a wake-up call. The Supreme Court case and resignation of the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal should have been a wake up call. What will it take for the Government to wake up? When will it do the right thing for people with disabilities and their families? What more does it need to act?

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