Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister to the House.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirelach for choosing my Commencement matter. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to reply to my matter. Councillor Patrick Donovan, a member of Cork County Council, does Trojan work in the field of disability and inclusivity. I want to publicly acknowledge his contribution to the disability sector. He really is a hands-on councillor in this regard. He has secured a commitment for a few car parking spaces for people with hidden disabilities, which is very important. Fair play to him.

As the Minister of State knows, hidden disabilities are often called invisible disabilities. They are disabilities not easily seen by the naked eye and are often impossible to see such as chronic fatigue, depression and autism. They are not visible but they can be very debilitating. It is very important to make life as easy as we can for anyone with hidden disabilities and providing priority car parking spaces is hugely important. The only thing is, these spaces, though very welcome, are provided on a non-statutory basis. They are akin to parent-and-toddler and the age-friendly spaces, where we depend on the goodwill of the public to adhere to the restrictions on that space. It is only when our pockets are hit or there is a threat of our pockets being hit that we really take notice. I am calling for a review of parking policy with regard to these type of spaces to make them statutory and to enhance what can be done with regard to people adhering to the restrictions on those spaces.

This Government is clearly committed to the whole sector of disability. It is very important that there is going to be cross-party connection and work on the delivery of disability services and measures that will help the disability sector. The Minister of State will agree that at the end of its tenure the Government wants to leave people with disabilities in a better place than when it started. Making these car parking spaces statutory so that people will adhere to them would be a great start.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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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.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his acknowledgment of the importance of this issue and for his commitment to looking into it and working on it. I look forward to working with him on this. These spaces are slightly wider than the usual disability space. There is a lovely sunflower on the space so it is different from the bare cold look of the normal disability space. The words "invisible disability" are also written on the space. I thank the Minister of State for his commitment and I acknowledge again the work of Councillor Patrick Donovan on this issue.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I apologise to Senator Murphy O'Mahony for not having the physical reply for her. There was a breakdown in the transfer of the reply, so I apologise for that.

I am wholly supportive of what the Senator wants to achieve. She is right: it is about being creative and looking at how we can do things differently. I cannot speak for them, but I know from talking to Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and Minister, Deputy O’Brien, that we are very supportive of what we are all trying to achieve. The former Minister of State, Senator Rabbitte, was trying to do that in her brief, to be fair to her. I thank Senator O'Mahony again. She has always been one to champion and push and this is an example where we can support people, their families and their carers, who are facing challenges with a disability every day. It is about ensuring that the disabled parking scheme provides access for everybody who needs it. It is about ensuring they can avail of parking and they can have access to important services. We have to become a bit more creative in how we think. I will certainly bring the Senator's contribution back to Minister of State, Deputy Canney.