Results 1-20 of 68 for and segment:8892897

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Michael Moynihan: .... On behalf of the committee I welcome representatives of the National Transport Authority: Ms Anne Graham, chief executive officer; Mr. Jeremy Ryan, director of public transport services; and Ms Wendy Thompson, director of transport regulation. From Iarnród Éireann, I welcome Mr. Barry Kenny, head of corporate communications, Mr. Billy Gilpin, director of railway undertakings,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ms Anne Graham: I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for the invitation to attend. I understand that the committee wishes to discuss the UNCRPD at a local level in terms of transport. I am joined by Ms Wendy Thompson, director of transport regulation, and Mr. Jeremy Ryan, director of public transport services with the authority. The importance of public transport for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Mr. Barry Kenny: I thank the committee for the invitation. Iarnród Éireann’s vision for rail is to be the backbone of an integrated, sustainable, and accessible public transport network for Ireland. We are committed to continuous improvements in accessibility, with the overall, ultimate objective of universal access for our customers. In that context, we are committed to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Dessie Ellis: ...witnesses for the introduction. Most of what I experience comes from my constituents telling me what problems they face. I know that some of the problems we face involve people getting on buses and wheelchair spaces being taken up. I know that most buses have one wheelchair place and some have two. What are the plans to improve the process? The drivers have made it clear they will not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ms Anne Graham: I will begin by speaking about buses and wheelchair spaces. It is not that we have a second wheelchair space on buses but a buggy space. There are two spaces on 70% of our Dublin fleet and we will be rolling this out as the fleet is replaced. We will continue to have these two spaces available. It is about trying to find spaces for buggies for parents with young children...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

...newer fleet has a ramp at the dismounting area also as a backup in case the ramp at the front is not operating. We are building in as many different accessibility features into the fleet as we can and as we learn more from users and develop better services. It is about managing access. We are providing the space and ensuring there are enough spaces available for people who might be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

...specifically. It is something we could include in the notices to customers through the messages that are on a loop to try to ensure we keep the wheelchair space available. It is available for standing. It is for both standing and wheelchair users. Usually there is a very audible alarm when the ramp is being deployed at the front. People get a warning that the ramp is being deployed....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

...wheelchairs or assistance dogs. We raised it to €250, which is the maximum we can levy under the legislation. We are also looking at the equality legislation, under which we also have a remit, and using one of our own regulations. There has been a marked difference since the fine was increased. Deputy Ellis mentioned dogs. In 2023, we had 19 complaints about refusals to take a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Mr. Billy Gilpin: I will comment on the new cross-Border fleet and the new Alstom fleet. The cross-Border Enterprise is a jointly operated service between Translink and Iarnród Éireann. It consists of three common trains. The service presented to the user is exactly the same. We do want to move to an Irish service. Shared island funding is being made available towards the end...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Mr. Ronan Murphy: With regard to the raised platform, we were looking at Killester Station again because of its proximity to the Central Remedial Clinic and the Irish Wheelchair Association but following a couple of surveys at Killester Station we found it was not suitable and this has now been moved to Park West. We are just finalising the actual location on the platform. It will involve...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Dessie Ellis: I have a further question. A lot of people are now being pushed to going on public transport. We are promoting public transport. A lot of people have pets and they may want to take them from A to B but we do not have a real plan when it comes to anyone getting onto a bus with a dog or something like that. I am just curious if that will be addressed in the future. I would love to know...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

...: While some people do bring small dogs on that will not cause any disruption to passengers it is very hard to distinguish between what would be considered a small lap dog or not. In preference, and given that many of our services are very busy services, we are currently restricted to assistance dogs and guide dogs. We are open to consider that in the future but for the moment, given...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I thank the witnesses for all the information. I will start with the National Transport Authority, NTA. I welcome the two buses we have in Carlow. The service has been an absolute and total success, a game changer. The disability access is absolutely excellent. We could do with more of them. I believe a review will be held shortly. We need these buses. We do not have one at our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

...Carlow service. We are delighted with the response of the customers to the Carlow service. It does get good access. We always review service after a number of months to see how it is operating and whether we are in a position to put in any additional services. There is a problem getting buses in and out of the railway station and finding a suitable and safe location for a bus. At all...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Ms Anne Graham: When people use a service like that, it puts us under pressure to do more and that is where we want to be but we are reliant on getting increased funding to be able to deliver on behalf of the people of Carlow. Regarding the bus service from Dublin to Carlow, which would have served Dublin Airport, as I said in my opening statement, we know there are no conditions in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Mr. Billy Gilpin: Regarding Carlow and the way we have reshaped our customer experience offer, previously we had nobody or very few travelling on the trains and we had station staff. The reality is that our customers spend the majority of their time interacting with Irish Rail on the train so we consciously decided to employ a complement of staff with the right skill set to act as customer...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Mr. Ronan Murphy: We have a designated customer contact centre so people can phone in. As Mr. Gilpin mentioned at the start, we have an assistance scheme for customers with disabilities and we operate as a hub station so even though Bagenalstown would be unmanned, we would have a hub station serving Bagenalstown. There would be about 17 assists per period within that station so we are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Mr. Barry Kenny: We are progressing preliminary design on expansion works at Carlow this year. Most of the land is under our ownership or we liaise with the NTA and Carlow County Council. There is potential scope for trebling spaces there subject to planning and funding but we are progressing that design this year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Frank Feighan: I am an optimist. It is always good to see some good news here and I thank the witnesses for the great work they are doing. The TFI LocalLink has changed the way we do our business. I never thought that was possible but it is certainly being rolled out. A total of 90% of the regular rural bus service has a level of wheelchair accessibility. We need to do more but it is very high. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Local Level: Discussion (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Michael Moynihan: We will start with Iarnród Éireann and then go to the NTA.