Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A good example is the need to ensure transport supports are there for people with disabilities and to deal with the mayhem around the primary medical certificate. Effectively, the appeals board dealing with the primary medical certificate resigned. The criteria by which the board members would judge somebody to be entitled to a primary medical certificate were deemed to be unfit for purpose and they resigned as they could not work with them. That happened a year ago but we still do not have an appeals mechanism and we still have the same criteria. People have come into my office who have been refused medical certificates and who I know need them, but they have no recourse. They do not want to know about legislation; they want that put in place. Putting the optional protocol in place will be the stick that will make the Government implement rights for people with disabilities, rather than waiting to have it right first. It will not be got right without a stick, and that stick is the optional protocol.

See this speech in context