Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I find this a bit unbelievable. Planning for this scheme has taken many months, maybe even years. The scheme was launched at the beginning of the year and the first meeting to properly discuss and have consultation around accessiblity took place on 6 June. Now an advisory panel is going to be put in place. The machines are already in place. They are welcome and are working well. However, any of them I have used are at my eye level and I am not small. I do not know how a wheelchair user would use them in the first place. For anyone who is visually impaired or blind, there is no Braille on the receipt button. How are people supposed to know where they get their receipt? They might be able to find the inlet where the bottle or can goes but how can they know where to get the receipt from?

People with mobility issues and without access to transport who shop online are dependent on having their shopping delivered. There is no mechanism in place for them to return the bottles. Many of them in areas where boil water notices are in place have to buy bottled water. They are dependent on this scheme and it is costing them money not being able to return the bottles.

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