Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is more than welcome. I am delighted to see her here because this Commencement matter was directed to the Department of Health. There ensued a series of emails informing me that this function moved to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on 1 March 2023. Lo and behold, we were told this morning that the issue is going to the Department of Finance. It has definitely been around the houses.

It is great to have the Minister of State here to discuss this important issue. We are trying to get to the bottom of the issue regarding disability services for people who need transportation. It is a huge issue for a small cohort of society which is badly affected.

In November 2021, I mentioned a case of a 34-year-old man with motor neurone disease. He was married with two kids. His wife was a full-time carer. He lived in a rural part of Bandon with no transportation. We were told in the House that the scheme had not been in operation since 2013 and there was no avenue to do anything for this poor man or his family. Amazingly, the community got together and a donor gave him a car. The man in question and his family have some independence today because of society stepping in where, unfortunately, the State failed. We are trying to get movement on these issues because there are other issues. People from different areas are trying to avail of a scheme that has not been in place since 2013. We are also looking at the taxation implications of the Department of Finance scheme and how that can be accessed. The latter is unique in its own right, with six really tight core principles that need to apply. The case of my next-door neighbour is an example. He is a young man, or possibly not so young any more. He is around my age, and when he was 13 years of age he lost his arm to a farm accident. An accident with a power take-off, PTO, shaft tore his right arm from the shoulder. He found he was not eligible for the scheme. He needs to lose two arms to be eligible. You could not write this stuff if you tried.

We are now in a scenario whereby families cannot qualify for the scheme because the criteria are so tight on the taxation element and the other side of the scheme has not been running since 2013. I am aware that it is proposed to set up a working group to look at these issues. I was informed of that when I was chasing the case in Bandon. That working group gave people some hope that there could be some joined-up thinking between the HSE and the Department of Finance. However, it has to be a workable scheme that addresses all the issues. There is no point in refusing a person who has, for example, Parkinson’s disease, by saying he or she does not qualify for the scheme, knowing that in a year’s time the condition will deteriorate and the person will qualify. That is what is happening. Compassion has to be tied into this scheme going forward.The working group needs to put a plan in place to ensure everyone has the ability to move around and access services.

This is about independence. It is about trying to give everyone in society independence. Unfortunately, since 2013 independence has been taken away from people with disabilities who cannot access transportation. In rural areas in particular, many people have no way of getting around other than by car. They cannot use public transportation. If there is no scheme to address that need, there is discrimination against that cohort of society. We need to get movement on such a scheme. We are trying to create a fair society for everyone. There was a significant surplus of €5 billion at the end of last year. That there is no scheme in place for this cohort of society - I agree it is a small group - is sinful. I am delighted the Minister of State is present because we need to get some drive and movement on this issue. As it fell under the Department of Health for a period, it probably did not get the regard it deserved. I hope we can now get impetus behind moving it forward. It a significant issue for the families who are in this unfortunate situation.