Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for selecting this matter and the Minister of State for his attendance.

An Agreed Programme for Government between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats states its aim for an inclusive society but some remain excluded. It also states that it is committed to building service provisions and legislative frameworks which will enable people with disabilities to fulfil their potential and make a full contribution to the economic and social life of the country. Every proposal in the Disability Bill 2004 now before the Dáil is qualified by reference to availability of resources. Most people with disabilities are concerned about access to the services they require to lead fulfilling lives, as promised in the programme for Government. The Minister of State is a member of that Government.

According to a 2003 pre-budget submission from the Disability Federation of Ireland "to participate as full and equal citizens in Irish society people with disabilities require services and supports that are available to them in their own communities". The submission notes that the previous Government mainstreamed some of those services which disability groups around the country welcomed but added: "However, mainstreaming does not begin and end with policy developments, for mainstreaming to succeed it must be resourced."

The National Disability Authority commissioned a survey to examine aspects of the social inclusion and well-being of people with disabilities last November. The survey looked at the "use and accessibility of transport, at social participation and social life" for people with disabilities:

Overall, the results of this survey show that people with disabilities are significantly more restricted in terms of getting out and about and in their social lives than non-disabled people. The survey results point to accessibility problems rather than health issues as important factors in restricting full social participation — in other words the barriers we put in front of people and the lack of accessible services are often more disabling to them than any impairment they may have.

The survey covered 500 disabled persons and 809 people with no disability. The results showed that twice as many disabled persons as non-disabled persons do not drive a car regularly; over 40% of disabled persons could not use public transport compared with less than 30% of the non-disabled group; and 30% of disabled persons who could not use public transport said it was because they could not get from their homes to the bus stops.

While Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail have improved their services and provided greater access it is often forgotten that the bus stops and access points for other services are not always accessible to disabled persons. That is the responsibility of the local authorities. I hope the Minister of State will turn his attention to the local authorities throughout the country and insist they make bus stops and other access points for public transport more accessible to people with disabilities.

One quarter of disabled respondents said they neither had access to public transport nor drive a car regularly. This compares with only 5% of the non-disabled respondents. For those who can neither drive nor use public transport it is difficult to get out of the house and travel any distance unless they get a lift or a taxi.

Taxis and hackneys are generally inaccessible to many disabled persons. When the Disability Bill is enacted will the resources be available to guarantee access to services to the disabled population? This is important as groups representing people with disabilities around the country say the Bill guarantees no rights because everything depends on available resources. Many agencies are outside the realm of Government but surely the resources should be put in place for people with disabilities to have access to State-run services.

I do not refer to Bus Éireann or Dublin Bus alone. Access in rural areas to bus services, whether inter-city or local is negligible. People with disabilities in those areas do not have access to public transport. Why is there a two-tier society within the disability sector for access to transport, between Dublin where access is reasonably good and rural areas where it is absent?

A total of 620 people appealed the decision of Department of Finance to deny them the benefit of the disabled drivers and passengers tax concession scheme. The Government has failed to put in place adequate personnel to process these appeals against a harsh decision. In a previous Adjournment debate I asked for the conditions and requirements of those applications to be somewhat relaxed. In that way, in the absence of any other form of accessible transport, these people can pass on a small tax concession to a friend, neighbour or family member who could provide transport for them.

We have waited four months for the appointment of a consultant to work on these appeals. That is a poor response from a Government whose programme includes the statement I quoted at the beginning of my speech. Will the Minister of State indicate whether the resources will be put in place to provide access to transport for people with disabilities?