Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and the Minister for their contributions. The Regional Group's contribution is that we need a scheme that will work, that will offer support to those who have mobility issues and allow them some independence so they are no longer grounded, as stated by Peter Tyndall.

Back in 2011, Emily O'Reilly stated that the scheme, and the requirement to hold a primary medical certificate, were wrong and did not comply with the Equal Status Act. It is not the fault of the Green Party or Fianna Fáil; they have been in government for the past two years. Really, the reaction of Governments has been to suspend a scheme if there is a problem with it. They say they will look at it and bring something forward in the future. As Members of the Oireachtas, there are many things we are not very proud of when we look at people with disabilities. This is one way of fixing one small problem for a cohort who are imprisoned in their homes at the moment. We talk about public transport and what we can do there. That is fine and we will do it but it will happen over long years. People will still be in their homes unable to go to work or go out and do their shopping. They will not have that independence which they so deserve. The message is not so much that the Government is not doing anything. We have to speed up this process. The chair of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters has said that as well.

We need to do it as quickly as possibly in a timeframe that will give hope. Timelines need to be put on all the discussions that are currently ongoing.

The Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall, said that the criteria for the primary medical certificate scheme are extremely limited and excessively restrictive. He explained that this has resulted in people who do not meet the criteria but are just as immobile as those who do being excluded from the scheme. The idea of this scheme should not be to exclude people who need it; it should be do include people who deserve it. It is a basic right and we should just put it in place. There will be challenges. I would tell both Ministers that the challenges will be with the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform to get the money to put this in place. It is terribly frustrating for people with disabilities. Everyone wants to do something that is right yet when it comes to paying for it the money is cut off. We have to get over that and now is the time to do that. We need timelines for the new scheme being put in place.

I refer to the appeals process. People in my constituency of Galway East have to travel up to Dún Laoghaire for an appeal. These are people who have mobility issues. Let us think about that. It is all wrong. We must ensure that there is a personalised support for people who need it. That is what we need to do and not drag people all over the country to try to prove a disability that sometimes they will have had since birth. I have a case of a young child who is blind and the family needs a car adapted. Whenever they try to get anything, like the primary medical certificate, the first thing the parents must do is prove the child is blind. The child is blind and is permanently blind. That is wrong and it is an indictment of what we have set up here. I wish the Ministers here well and we are here to support them in making sure that whatever we do, we do it right for those who need it.

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