Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Regional Group for putting forward the motion and giving me an opportunity to speak on this important issue. I fully support it, not least its calls for the Department to develop a plan, in consultation with people with disabilities, disabled persons’ organisations and disability service providers, that will provide equitable access to transport for those with disabilities.

Article 9 of the UNCRPD, on accessibility, insists that member states "enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications ...". Ireland has an embarrassing, and frankly dangerous, track record when it comes to breaches of human rights. While our disabilities and our needs are not static and are not standardised, our rights are. Our approach to disability must be rooted in a human rights approach. This includes recognising the independence and autonomy that transport provides in allowing disabled people to live fully as vital members of our community.

According to the 2016 census, Ireland's population is changing. At that point, our disabled community made up 13.5% of the population, a number that has increased and is likely to continue to do so. Our elderly population has also increased to 13.4% of the total population, which is an increase of 19%. What this tells us is that universal and accessible design and spaces are not only inclusive and rights based, but are also vastly practical and necessary for a large and growing number of our population.

I welcome the recent advancements in accessible DART trains. However, they must be rolled out quicker and across all train lines. In the interim, Irish Rail must ensure staff are available at stations to support people with physical disabilities and ensure lifts are working, which is vitally important, and that ramps are available. Space must be allocated on trains for people with physical disabilities. Currently, even with the ridiculous 24-hour notice requirement, many wheelchair users have reported that space is unavailable on the train and stations are unmanned with lift facilities perpetually out of order. This is not good enough. Funding is needed to ensure a fully-wheelchair accessible rail service that provides for freely-available ramp systems and on-hand staff support to guarantee access to trains and allocated wheelchair spaces. While I am pleased we are hoping to make a start in rolling out accessible trains, we also need to work immediately to ensure that the service as a whole is accessible and fit for purpose for all of us.

I call on the Government to commit funding for a nationwide network of accessible coach stops, alongside ongoing purchase of accessible coaches. I also call on the Government to ensure that all buses, including city buses, are accessible to people with disabilities beyond the current capacity of one wheelchair at any given time. The Minister of State will have to admit that the current provision is totally inadequate. In this day and age, it is depressing to be talking about this and talking about improving it.

I also believe that we should do all we can to encourage our taxi service providers to operate as accessibly as possible. Given that updating our public transport system to make it accessible will take a period of time and investment, it makes sense to facilitate private taxis in becoming accessible in the interim. We can do this by applying extra weighting to taxi operators with accessible vehicles in tender processes when awarding State contracts. In fact, people should not get a State contract unless they have an accessible taxi. That is the way it should be. We also need to manage the €1 million subsidy scheme currently awarded to taxi operators who purchase accessible vehicles through the NTA, to increase a nationwide spread of accessible taxis. We should aspire to have 30% of all taxis accessible by 2026, with a continued commitment that, by 2035, this will be universal.

I support the motion’s call for the Government to reinstate the motorised transport grant and mobility allowance to assist in covering the cost of transport. The Government withdrew the motorised transport grant and the mobility allowance with the promise they would be replaced with a new transport support scheme yet people with disabilities are still waiting. They have been waiting a long time and there is still no sign of an end to that waiting. In Donegal, for example, this is the only transport option available for many disabled people. That is a real problem. Both of these schemes are crucial to the disabled population, particularly at a time when our public transport system and infrastructure are not fully accessible. Disabled people rely on taxis, especially those who live in the many rural parts of our country such as my constituency of Donegal. The mobility allowance and motorised grant went part of the way to cover these costs or help people buy an adaptive car.

I echo the National Disability Authority, NDA, in welcoming section 2.2. of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2025, which states that the strategy aims to ensure "A fully inclusive EV charging infrastructure network". However, research carried out by IrishEVs.comregarding EV charging availability showed that there were only four wheelchair accessible ESB electric vehicle chargers in Ireland. It is only when I started working on this today that I discovered that. I have an electric car. When I think about, surely they could be made disabled-friendly and accessible. It is shocking that in this day and age this new technology would be rolled out with any thought to that.

The NDA further notes that accessible information is one of the key criteria for universally designed services. This should be incorporated into the consultation process for EV infrastructure. While the strategy may speak of a commitment to universal design at all stages of EV infrastructure, on the website itself no alternative or accessible formats of the strategy are available. They probably need to get a new definition of "design" so that it takes into account disabled people.

Section 28 of the Disability Act 2005 outlines that public bodies should, as far as is practicable, make oral and written communication accessible when customers with impairments request them, make electronic communication accessible to customers with vision impairments who use assistive technology and make relevant information accessible to customers with intellectual disabilities. The most efficient way of ensuring this is to provide alternative formats of documentation or provide the public with a clear way of requesting alternative formats. This would be simple and inexpensive for the Government to do, yet it would make a world of difference to people with disabilities. We should focus on making this country an easy, safe and accessible place to live for our disabled population. Instead, the Government, unfortunately, has continued to create barrier after barrier for them and their families.

Transport costs add yet another extra living cost for people with disabilities, one that many are not in the position to afford. Inaccessible transport severely affects the quality of life for many with disabilities and the lack of action by the Government is disgraceful. We should invest in an inclusive transport infrastructure that does not leave people behind and that supports accessibility for our disabled population, particularly those in rural Ireland, who have very limited accessibility as it is. It is for this reason that I strongly support this motion and urge the Government to give it proper and due consideration.

See this speech in context