Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for her contribution and for her ongoing advocacy for people with disabilities, including in her previous role of champion and advocate. Senator Rabbitte, who was the Minister of State in the Department, had done a lot of great work as well and the Department is reviewing this. In some way my answer to the Senator will be inadequate because she is right that the overarching approach needs to be revisited. We have a different view and understanding of disability. She is also correct in highlighting hidden disabilities.

If she is referring to Councillor Donovan in the Carrigaline electoral area, I know him well. He did work experience in my office and then he went wrong. We will come back to that. I thank him for the work he is doing.

I am taking the reply on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney who sends his apologies. He has responsibility for the disabled parking scheme. The scheme operates by reserving a proportion of public parking spaces for disabled parking permit holders. The permits are available to people living with mobility restriction, whether it is severe or permanent, whether they are drivers or passengers, as well as those who are registered as blind. The intention of the permit and the disabled parking scheme, more generally, is to provide access to parking bays of sufficient size close to important services such as post offices, banks, pharmacies and shops for people who would not necessarily gain access.

It is important to recognise that the permit is about making sure that people can park close enough to reach the designated area because of their restricted mobility. The Senator is correct that drivers and passengers with cognitive impairments, including non-visible conditions, do not qualify on those grounds alone. This is because the scheme is not aimed at people with disabilities in general. It is specifically for people with impaired mobility. This is the group most in need of good physical access to services and most directly disadvantaged by inaccessible parking spaces that are too far away from their destination or the standard parking space that is too small to safely exit from a vehicle with a wheelchair, walking aid or oxygen equipment.

As Minister of State, I am aware, as are the Minister for Transport and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, that a number of local authorities and private parking operators have installed neurodiverse-friendly parking bays at various locations throughout the country. The Senator referenced Councillor Donovan who successfully gained a number of spaces. These are what are called courtesy spaces and have no basis on statute and are not subject to Garda and traffic warden enforcement. The Department of Transport has no involvement in the provision of such spaces and does not intend to capture them within the existing statutory scheme for the reasons I have outlined. However, the Department is undertaking a comprehensive three-part review of the disabled parking scheme, including a mapping of its present operation, a targeted stakeholder consultation and an analysis of its legislative basis.I can confirm on behalf of Minister of State, Deputy Canney, that permit eligibility is among the matters being considered as part of this project, with a particular emphasis on the assessment of mobility impairment. The contribution Senator Murphy O'Mahony has made this morning should feed into that review because there are more and more people who need the spaces. It is no longer the linear ones we are familiar with. I support the Senator's wish to see that review and capturing the people she has spoken about. I thank her for raising the matter.