Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The HSE provides specialist disability services, including day services and rehabilitative training, to people with disabilities who require them. While day service funding does not include transport, some transport supports are provided by the HSE or funded agencies on a discretionary basis and a variety of transport solutions are pursued in different CHO areas. These include travel training to enable public transport to be used where appropriate, local transport such as Local Link, private bus transport and taxis. Some service providers provide transport where capacity exists. In general, day service users are also in receipt of disability allowance and are automatically entitled to the free travel pass.

The issue of transport to day services is acknowledged by the HSE and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It is recognised that, without this support, many people with disabilities would not be able to access services. The HSE and service providers work hard every year at a local level to source transport solutions for adult day service users. The HSE has been working with the National Transport Authority, NTA, on this issue of transport through the Open Routes project. Open Routes is based on the idea that transport to HSE services such as day services would best be provided by accessible local public transport, such as Local Link, transporting people to their day services but also serving the wider local community with enhanced public transport provision. This approach is being piloted in Leitrim. The NTA advises that the integrated pilot project was developed in close collaboration with the HSE, with a revised network designed to meet the needs of mainstream public transport users as well as the transport needs of passengers with disabilities and those accessing healthcare services in the county. This pilot project has been in operation for more than a year. To date, all feedback on the pilot from stakeholders, such as the HSE, HSE day centres, external stakeholders and passengers, has been positive. In addition to this positive feedback, passenger numbers on regular rural services have grown considerably since the introduction of the revised Transport for Ireland, TFI, Local Link network for County Leitrim. This is a model that could be applied in other parts of the country, with the NTA leading and working closely with local partners, such as the HSE. The NTA and HSE are continuing to progress this work.

Under the national disability inclusion strategy, the Department of Transport has responsibility at national level for the continued development of accessibility and the availability of accessible public transport. To develop proposals for better co-ordination of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities, a transport working group was established, co-ordinated by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and chaired by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. The outcomes of the group's work provide a valuable evidence base for future policy development, detailing proposals for the development and co-ordination of enhanced transport and mobility support options for people with disabilities. The report was published last month by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, on whose website it is available.

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