Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and appreciate that this is not his Ministry. I find the reply incredibly disappointing. As the Minister of State has noted, there are transport services available on a limited and discretionary basis. There are no guidelines. There is not even a means test in place. I have thankfully worked closely with some of the fortunate recipients and from what I can see, it is available on a "he or she who shouts the loudest" basis. The idea that the funding is there on a discretionary basis with absolutely no guidelines is not good enough. It falls between Departments. I previously raised this matter through the HSE South forum and Cork County Council. Health told me to go to transport and transport and told me to go to health. This is falling between two or even three stools, with the Department of disability as well.

I welcome the update about the open routes project. While it is a really good project, I am not sure how applicable it is in very remote and rural areas. I note the pilot is in Leitrim and seems to be going very well. As well as those to whom it is not available in terms of geography, there are also those who would not have the ability to independently access public transport. I know that open routes is a more accommodating way of doing this. For the more severe kids and adults who are starting off with their disability day services, they may not be able to use that. A public transport-based system, even if it is something like open routes, is not going to be accessible to them, which makes their service less accessible.