Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Every time I table a Commencement matter I have the pleasure of her responding. It is great to have an opportunity to debate this major issue. I know the Minister of State has a great interest in it, given the correspondence she has sent to my office.

This is about trying to make sure we put in place a suitable transportation network for vulnerable adults trying to attend services in Bantry. For the past 12 months in particular, it has been a big issue for 11 vulnerable adults in the Bantry, Beara, Castletownbere and Ardgroom area. They need transportation in a very remote part of Ireland on the Beara Peninsula. They must go from places such as Ardgroom and Castletownbere to Bantry for services they truly love. They are very much part of the services being provided. The transportation network is a major issue. There has been a month-by-month saga about how the transportation network would be provided. The HSE has been involved, as has the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and private charities, trying to make sure a service is put in place so these vulnerable adults can get to their destination.

We had a scenario where Local Link, which is a wonderful service in many ways, became part of the solution. To be quite honest, it was never going to be a solution to the degree that the parents and vulnerable adults hoped it would. There are three destinations involved. These are the National Learning Network centre, CoAction and the Rehab care centre. The transport network needs to be tailored to the needs of these individuals and vulnerable adults. They need that little bit more support to make sure they can reach their full potential. The parents and the community are up in arms about where we are going. I realise the Minister of State got involved in recent months and provided funding so that it would be extended to the end of this month. The question now is what will happen next. The clock is ticking.

We have had a big debate in Irish society about how we will make sure we will put transportation links in place. There is a review of the school transportation scheme. It is not in the Minister of State's Department but it is a very important part of making sure everyone is part of the transportation network. The school transportation scheme will look at children. I believe there should be a transportation scheme put in place for vulnerable adults. I was contacted by a mother from Kilbrittain who had to give up work to take her vulnerable adult to services in Dunmanway. There were services for the person as a child but there was no transportation after the person reached the age of 18. This mother has taken a step back in her own life to support her family.

There is a policy issue with regard to how we can make sure vulnerable adults in all settings can be catered for when it comes to transportation networks. This is an important plank we need to start talking about. The issue is about a very remote part of west Cork going from Ardgroom all the way over to Beara and into Castletownbere and Bantry. This cohort of 11 adults need a little bit of extra care. Putting them on a Local Link service will not work. Their parents are absolutely distraught about what will happen. I realise this is a very tough situation but we need a roadmap and we do not have one at present. I hope the Minister of State will be able to enlighten us on what the national policy is and how we will progress this issue.