Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Regional Group for putting forward this important motion. Disabled citizens are being let down by the Government, which has shown a shocking lack of political will to prioritise their needs. It has been ten years since the discontinuation of the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant for new applicants in 2013 and the Government has yet to provide a fair and equitable replacement. Moreover, it has been six years since the previous Government committed to reviewing all transport and mobility schemes for people with disabilities, yet no progress has been made on improving options for transport to work or employment supports for people with disabilities.

The Minister of State has yet again initiated a departmental group to examine transport issues, as though we do not know enough about them. This is only whitewashing, paying lip service and creating confusion. The lack of support is a grave violation of the fundamental human rights of people with disabilities. Access to transport on a basis equal to that of others is a right recognised as an international human right. It is pretty basic and we should all adhere to it. It is unacceptable that disabled citizens, especially those in rural areas, as Deputy Nolan mentioned, continue to face immense difficulties in accessing public transport. We do not have it in most cases, and where we do, we have to give a day's notice, or in some cases two, and it is not good enough, while the Government fails to provide a personal transport scheme that meets these people’s needs.

It is illogical that children can be provided with transport to their education facilities, which we welcome and support, but as soon as they arrive at the age of 18, they are abandoned and left in limbo, with the family left to fend for themselves in whatever way they can. This is totally unacceptable. It is scandalous. Parents of young adults with disabilities have enough to worry about, such as where the young person is going to attend a day service, without having to worry about how they will even get there. As we know, they worry also about what will happen when they themselves get old and who will look after their loved one.

The measure of society is how we treat our most vulnerable, and this is yet another example of how our State is failing our disabled citizens. I call on the Government to take immediate action to implement a fair and adequate transport scheme that will ensure equality, accessibility and inclusion for disabled citizens in all sectors of society. Many Deputies mentioned the primary medical certificate. The issues with getting it and applicants being rejected for the silliest of reasons are not acceptable. The difficulty of even able-bodied people in rural Ireland getting transport is a huge issue, not to mention how it is for people with disabilities. It is not acceptable.

Another interdepartmental report into this, gathering dust in some office, is not the answer. It is frustrating and disingenuous. We have targets we are duty bound to meet, of 6% of the public sector comprising people with disabilities by 2025, yet we are barely meeting our current target, as Deputy Kelly and others mentioned, of 3%. How are we going to jump to 6%? Clearly, we are not going to. We are more worried about gimmicks, schemes and all kinds of greening and conning our communities than we are about dealing with the needs of people with disabilities. The Minister of State is privileged to be in charge of disability matters. Surely she will do something to bring back, in particular, the motorised transport grant. There may have been glitches and we were all involved in assisting people in that regard, but at least it was available. That no new applicants have been able to join the scheme since 2013 is abject and utter discrimination. It is unimaginable that a State could do that.

Everything is a matter of scale. The Ceann Comhairle met the opposition candidate from Belarus yesterday. Appalling tragedies are going on in that country. She received the Tipperary Peace Award, which I accept. Her husband is a political prisoner. Nevertheless, we have our own problems here. We have had freedom for 100 years, yet we are not treating our people fairly. While we must support all those groups and people who are being persecuted, disabled people and their families are being persecuted in a different way because they have to fight every inch of the way, every hour of the day. The big worry for parents and guardians, as they get on in years, is who will advocate for their children in adulthood. It is an appalling vista.

See this speech in context