Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the update. There is no appeals mechanism in place for anyone who applies for the primary medical certificate because the appeals board resigned over a year ago, citing the unworkable nature of the scheme. No action has been taken since. Sometimes when you look at something like this, there is complete inequality in the system. People who are on the existing schemes, the mobility allowance and the motorised transport scheme are benefiting but new entrants cannot apply for those schemes. There are people who are being supported and people who are not. In my constituency of Galway East, there is very little public transport to help these people. They will have trouble in accessing public transport. As the Ombudsman report said, they are being grounded. The report was published in November 2021. The schemes were decommissioned in 2013, or nine years ago. There has been ample opportunity to get something in place to help people with disabilities. As a member of the Committee on Disability Matters, it is incumbent on me to state this on behalf of people with disabilities: it is not good enough and we need to do more.

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