Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask about the rights of citizens with disabilities. Documents released to me under freedom of information show that, for years, the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal has called on the Minister for Finance to change the criteria of the disabled drivers and passengers scheme. It warned that it excluded and discriminated against citizens with genuine, permanent and severe disabilities. Despite the repeated warnings since 2018, no action has been taken and the board often did not even get a response to its concerns. It made it clear it could no longer be involved in the scheme on moral and ethical grounds. As a result of repeated inaction by the Minister for Finance, this board of medical professionals all resigned en masse.

There was no action by the Minister. It was not a priority, yet thousands of people with disabilities were left grounded or stranded. What is the Tánaiste's response to the inaction of the Minister for Finance over a period of five years and the damaging consequences for so many of our citizens with disabilities as a result?

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