Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending. I am raising the issue of access to St. Michael's House in Dublin 9 for day service users. These people are having difficulty accessing transport. The Department is well aware of this issue. In a presentation made to me last week, however, I was told that it had 788 adult service users who are transported to day services every day, of whom 200 are supported by St. Michael's House drivers and escorts, 120 are transported by Vantastic, 96 are transported by residential house staff and bus, 41 are transported by day service staff and bus, 35 are transported by contract taxis, 38 are transported by family members - with 18 such arrangements being unsustainable - and 258 are transported by public transport, some with support. A total of 435 of these individuals live with residential supports from St. Michael's House. The Minister of State will appreciate that these are very vulnerable users of the service for whom transport is essential. If they do not have transport, the service will not be accessible to them.

I will outline some of their concerns and some of the deficiencies relating to the service. A total of eight service users who live at home cannot access the service because they have no transport. This is a serious situation for these eight individuals. A total of 38 individuals are being transported by family members and, as already stated, 18 of these arrangements are not sustainable. An issue of equity arises here. St. Michael's House also supports an ageing group of people with increasingly complex needs. The average age of primary care givers there is also increasing. Twenty individuals supported in St. Michael's House residential services are on a waiting list for transport, which impacts on residential service staff. A total of 325.5 staff hours could be released from the roster if an effective transport service was delivered.

The issue of transport to and from St. Michael's House to allow individuals to access its services has been ongoing for quite a number of years. There is no cheap solution and providing transport is expensive. What is even more expensive, however, is the compounded vulnerability, isolation, loneliness and sense of despair experienced by the families who need these services for their loved ones. The sense of isolation because of a lack of transport is quite acute. While I know the Minister of State and his Department will be looking at both the cost and the bottom line, I contend that the cost of not taking action will be quite profound.

I want to be constructive. I know there are no easy solutions that the Minister of State can offer today but I would ask that he and other Ministers, who I know have been in contact with and have met representatives from St. Michael's House, can try to find an equitable and sustainable solution. A number of people clearly need this service and cannot access it because of the lack of transport to which I refer. The families of the eight individuals I mentioned will be impacted upon as well because of the range of challenges their loved ones face. I plead with the Minister of State to look at the situation and provide transport for these individuals. They are very vulnerable and need the service and to be able to access it. Without transport, they will continue to be isolated. We are in a much better financial position than previously and we have the resources to do things we were unable to do in the past. I ask the Minister of State and the Department to prioritise this issue.