Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will reverse the decision to cease the mobility allowance and motorised transport grant schemes until such time as an alternative scheme or schemes are put in place that is both compliant with equality legislation and provides at least equivalent support to all individuals qualifying under the said two schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14001/13]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Government is very conscious of the needs of people with a disability who require transport supports from the State and also conscious of the position of the Ombudsman that the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant schemes are illegal in the context of the Equal Status Acts.

The Minister, Deputy Reilly, and I considered carefully the recommendations of the Ombudsman in regard to both schemes and, in particular, we looked at the potential cost of implementing the recommended changes. Any additional cost incurred by expansion of the schemes would have to be met from current expenditure and result in a reduction of front-line specialist disability, older people and mental health services for people who need them. It is clear that an extension of either scheme would create serious financial pressure on the health budget in the current climate and would be unsustainable.

Following detailed consideration of issues involved with Cabinet colleagues, the Government decided on 26 February that it is no longer possible to allow the two schemes to continue as they presently operate and to devise an alternative solution for meeting people's needs. A special review group, which is independently chaired, has been established to seek an alternative method to provide for the needs of people in a manner that does not run counter to the Equal Status Acts.

The initial phase of the group's work, which is led by the Department of Health, will concentrate on issues around mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant. Thereafter, the group will continue, under the leadership of a different Department, to look at opportunities for the enhancement of the transport options provided to the relevant persons in need.

As part of the initial phase of the review, the Health Service Executive will examine the circumstances of all those currently benefiting from the schemes to ensure the identified solutions will encompass their priority mobility needs. In addition, the Minister for Health has instructed the HSE to contact each individual in receipt of the payments to notify them of this decision.

It is important to note that, although the Government's decision ends both schemes to new applicants with immediate effect, the payment of mobility allowance to those currently in receipt of it will continue for a period of four months following the decision.

It is also important to note the decision is in no way intended to save costs and the funding involved in the two schemes of €10.6 million remains committed to meeting the priority transport needs of people with a disability.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

In advance of the establishment of the project group, Department of Health officials met representatives of the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association at my request. In addition, membership of the project group, which is independently chaired, is drawn from both the statutory and non-statutory sectors. The work of the project group is being supported by the National Disability Authority and includes representatives from the Irish Wheelchair Association, the Disability Federation of Ireland, an independent service user and advocate for people with disabilities, and a retired county council manager with relevant experience. Both the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and I have instructed the project group to seek solutions across the whole of Government in order that alongside representatives from the Department of Health and the HSE, membership also includes representatives from Pobal and from the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Environment, Community and Local Government, Social Protection and Finance.

The project group has met twice and its next meeting is scheduled for 25 March. The Government decision includes a requirement that the results of the review will be presented to the Government before any final decisions are made on future arrangements.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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This issue has not been addressed in the two years since the coalition came to power. The entire focus on the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant scheme has only come to pass again because it is out of sync with the equality legislation. No action has taken place over that two year period and there is no point in hiding behind the failures of the previous Administration. The current Government has failed to do it over two years and now, in one fell swoop, it is leaving a significantly targeted sector of people further targeted with the loss of such schemes. It is no comfort to those who would be applicants or to those who have the mobility allowance and for whom it will cease in four months time.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Put a question please, Deputy.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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What should have happened for this sector of people with disabilities is that an alternative should have been devised and the scheme should have been extended to accommodate this if, at whatever point, the commencement of this consideration got under way. As the Minister of State can be no less aware of the extent of the hurt and pain this has caused throughout the State, I again ask and appeal to her to withdraw this cut-off date, to give certainty to those who currently have these supports and to create a deadline for the introduction of a scheme that will serve, within a specified timeframe, all the need that exists. As this is what people need, will the Minister of State do so?

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Members should recognise the Government is more than conscious of the effect the abolition of these two schemes will have on those who are reliant on them. This is the reason it took the Government so long, not that it was unaware of it. The Government has been considering these two schemes since coming into office. The difficulty is they are in contravention of the Equal Status Acts and even were one to comply with this legislation, the Government also believes there are certain areas in which it will contravene the Disability Act. Consequently, it was not one but two legislative items that were involved. To a great extent, the report by the Ombudsman forced the Government's hand. This is not to suggest the Ombudsman's report was wrong. It was perfectly clear and legitimate for the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, to make such a report and it became clear that both schemes were operating illegally. Were the Government to extend both these schemes in the manner suggested, the Government simply could not afford it. At present, it is examining how to meet the transport needs of this group of people, but it is highly conscious of the difficulties that arise in respect of both these schemes.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It is known that the Department of Health - I will leave it as being that Department, as distinct from the two successive Governments - was aware since 2008 that these particular schemes were not in line with the Equal Status Acts. The aforementioned schemes have been akimbo since the millennium year of 2000. What has the Minister of State discovered the Department of Health to have been doing to address this issue over the years spanning the end of the previous Administration to the time the present Government took office? Was it doing anything at all to address this particular issue? It is unacceptable, and in a point I have made to the Minister of State previously, I have it to say that for people in large parts of the country in which there is extremely limited public transport, not least in my own constituency, there is no great return from the travel pass for many in circumstances such as those that obtain in rural Cavan, Monaghan and many other places throughout this State. I refer to the scenario in which she is not prepared to reverse the decision announced.

Can the Minister at least tell us what might replace these schemes? Importantly, given that she has put a time frame of four months for the death of entitlement, can she give us a sense of when whatever is to replace them will come on stream?

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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In fact, the Ombudsman tells us that these schemes have been illegal for the last 13 years. That is not to put blame on anybody.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Since the millennium year.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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We looked at alternatives but each alternative we proposed was found to be illegal on the advice of the Attorney General. The group we have put together is wide-ranging and will examine transport needs. It will meet again on 25 March. With regard to the time frame, we hope to have a proposed scheme in place to replace the schemes we have abolished. It will not be an individualised scheme. The Deputy is correct in what he said. We all know what the circumstances are. It might be okay if one lives in the middle of a city and there is a transport solution at the end of one's street, even though that is not always the case in urban areas. However, what if one lives in a very rural area? We must seriously examine how to put in place a transport scheme for people with disabilities, not a separate transport scheme just for them but a scheme that is capable of allowing people with disabilities to travel. That is the type of mainstreaming we should have been examining for the last 20 years anyway.