Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Imagine having to go miles out of your way to access public transport. Imagine being unable to safely leave the street you live on to get to public transport because of the poor state of a footpath. Imagine you are in a wheelchair and there is a pavement with a drop kerb on one side and none on the other, meaning you cannot cross the road. Imagine being unable to plan to go anywhere without first ensuring that your route is accessible and that you have someone available to assist you. Imagine being unable to hear public announcements at train and bus stations because of impaired hearing. Imagine not being able to read a timetable or route planner due to poor eyesight. Imagine not being able to ask clearly for help or directions. These are the things many of us take for granted. We do not stop to think about them. We take them in our stride. Everything is designed to make our lives as convenient as possible. When people with disabilities plan a journey, they have to consider every possible obstacle on the way. Will they be able to manage the footpaths and kerbs? Will a car be parked on the footpath, making it impossible to pass? These are the worries they have when they simply want to leave their homes. That is before they even try to navigate our public transport system.

All over Ireland disabled people are limited in their social lives, limited in their choice of work and limited in their access to education and healthcare, limitations which are imposed because we fail to meet their needs. It is a failure to allow them the same freedoms the majority of citizens enjoy. It is difficult for able-bodied people to imagine coping with such restrictions. We take freedom of movement and travel for granted. Getting from A to B does not cost us a thought. We seldom if ever have to consider our ability to move freely. We walk, we cycle, we drive. We travel by bus, train, aeroplane or boat. People with disabilities have the same right to travel freely. They have the right to live full and inclusive lives. They have the right to participate fully in all aspects of life. Yet these basic rights that we take for granted are denied to men, women, teenagers and children because successive governments have failed to recognise their human needs. They have restricted their ability to fully live their lives by denying them the support to do so.

For adults with disabilities in rural areas of Tipperary and across the country, lack of access to public transport deprives them of even the most basic activity. The abolition of the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant in 2013 was the ultimate slamming of the door in the faces of disabled people in Tipperary and across Ireland. A replacement scheme was promised but ten years later it has not materialised, despite the knowledge that ending those supports resulted in many disabled people being stranded in their own homes and left entirely dependent on other people. It was a classic case of "out of sight, out of mind" as many disabled people in rural Ireland became invisible. Neglect of their needs rendered them prisoners in their own homes.

One of the greatest and most basic rights of all people is the right to work. For many physically disabled people, the ability to hold down a job brings them their greatest satisfaction and purpose in life. It can, in fact, be the one place where they can fully participate, are accepted on an equal footing and can realise their personal worth. A comprehensive employment strategy is in place to make this possible. Disabled people must be treated equally by potential employers. Yet how can an employer treat a disabled person equally if a question mark stands over his or her ability to get to work? Public transport in Ireland has improved in being on time as growing numbers of people depend on it daily. Disabled people, however, must first be able to get to a bus stop or train station. They may need help to board if the bus or train does not have a properly integrated ramp. They must depend on others to store away a wheelchair if it cannot be accommodated on board. They may feel awkward or a hindrance to other passengers. Those feelings may be enough to prevent them from trying to secure a job. Similar thoughts will run through the minds of employers, who may silently question the person's ability to be a reliable employee.

This motion of the Regional Group calls for several changes. Each proposal is equally important. Disability rights are human rights, not special rights. Persons with disabilities have the same rights as all people through non-discrimination, access, equality of opportunity, inclusion and full participation in society. It is time the Government made that happen.

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