Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has been responsible for this scheme since 2017. I asked him when the engagements happened. He said there were ongoing engagements in 2020. Was that the first time the board of appeal raised concerns with him? Can he indicate to the House the first time he was made aware that they would not continue to operate this scheme because of its discriminatory nature or the concerns they had with it? What action did he take following his being alerted to that?

There have been severe consequences of inaction for many years in respect of this scheme. One of the last actions taken by the Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall, was to publish a report called Grounded which itemised how people with severe disabilities could not leave their homes and were unable to take up normal activities that the Minister and I take for granted because of the flaws in the scheme. We have had the new Ombudsman call it out and call on Opposition and Government Deputies to put on pressure to get this rectified. When was the Minister first alerted to the matter? When did the board members first raise concerns that they would not be able to operate the scheme any longer? What actions did the Minister take immediately following that?

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