Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I particularly welcome what the Minister said about liaising with other Departments. The cross-departmental nature of this funding is hugely important. It is not just the Minister's Department but also the Department of Health, the Department of Transport and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality that need to come together to make sure this funding is effective in how it relates to people with disabilities.

I want to specifically address the accessibility retrofit programme for public transport. We opened a new DART station in my constituency, in Woodbrook, with fully accessible platforms, yet the fully accessible trains that will allow wheelchair users, for example, to get onto them will not come for two years. Those trains are important for people like artists, as the Minister mentioned, to get to different venues and places where they are going to work. That has to be part of the scheme as well. The cross-departmental element is crucial to make sure it is effective and gives people with disabilities what they need.

See this speech in context