Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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417. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on the adequacy of mobility supports for persons with a disability and on the adequacy of the disabled drivers and disabled passenger scheme in particular. [61006/22]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of mobility supports for people with disabilities is a key priority for me as Minister of State with responsibility for Disability. While a significant number of transport supports and services are provided by the state, it is clear that further progress is needed in this regard.

Important cross-Government action to review and consider proposals for the enhancement of mobility supports is being advanced through the framework of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS), and in particular in the context of Action 104 of the NDIS.

A Transport Working Group was established in 2020 to make progress under Action 104 of the NDIS. This Working Group was tasked with a very specific objective, derived originally from the Make Work Pay Report 2017, to coordinate action on transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities across Government in order to enhance the options for transport to work or employment for people with disabilities. The Group felt, in January 2022, that the scope of its work needed to look beyond employment, towards supporting people with disabilities to participate fully and more broadly in their lives and in their communities. 

I have chaired meetings of the Transport Working Group since January 2022. As part of its work we have engaged in discussions on the adequacy of mobility supports with a view towards enhancing the provision of mobility and transport supports going forward. The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme was one of several schemes that the Transport Working Group considered. The discussions have been particularly enriched by the contribution of Disability Stakeholder Representatives and other disability organisations, who have ensured that the lived experience of people with disabilities remains at the centre of deliberations.

The focus of the Group's work now is on completing Action 104 by developing proposals for the development of enhanced mobility and transport supports for people with disabilities. Submissions for proposals to this end were invited from members of the Transport Working Group between September and October 2022. The submissions received by my Department have contributed to a report of the Working Group which was circulated to the Group on 1 December and which will be considered at the final meeting of the Group on 8 December.  It will be incumbent on colleagues across Government with responsibility for transport and mobility supports, currently and going forward, to carefully consider how the recommendations of the Transport Working Group ought to be advanced following the completion of Action 104 and the conclusion of the NDIS in December 2022.

In that regard, I would note that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth does not hold responsibility for the administration of any transport or mobility supports for people with disabilities. The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme is the responsibility of the Minister for Finance and is administered by the Revenue Commissioners. As such, I would direct the Deputy to that Minister for further comment on the specific status of the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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418. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the implementation of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy. [61008/22]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) is a key framework for policy and action to address the needs of persons with disabilities in Ireland and to support effective progress in delivering on the obligations set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The NDIS was originally intended to guide action in the 2017-2021 period, but it was extended to the end of 2022 due to the impact of Covid.

The NDIS contains over 120 cross-Government actions to support effective progress in delivering on the obligations set out in the UNCRPD. As Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, I chair meetings of the NDIS Steering Group (NDISSG), which is the monitoring mechanism for the Strategy. The NDISSG includes representatives of relevant Government departments and agencies and the Disability Stakeholder Group (DSG).

Departments have established their own Departmental Consultative Committees (DCC) which meet in advance of each quarterly NDISSG meeting. DCCs consist of relevant department officials and representatives of the National Disability Authority (NDA), the DSG and relevant disability organisations. DCCs have a mandate to monitor implementation by departments of NDIS actions.

A Mid-Term Review of the NDIS was published in March 2020. The Review set a framework for action on disability until the end of the lifetime of the Strategy. It was informed by a consultation process with disability stakeholders and with relevant departments and agencies. This process confirmed that stakeholders wanted the emphasis on action under the NDIS to be on implementing existing commitments within the Strategy and on fulfilling obligations that arise from Ireland’s ratification of the UNCRPD.

The final meeting of the NDISSG is scheduled to be held on 13 December 2022, and work to develop a successor strategy to the NDIS has already commenced. Since June 2021, the NDISSG have considered a concept note, proposals for consultation processes, and a paper prepared by the National Disability Authority (NDA), outlining options for the strategy model that may be adopted going forward. This will be the focus of dedicated work in 2023, and it is intended to publish a successor strategy next year following extensive consultations with stakeholders.

Much has been achieved under the NDIS by all departments and agencies across Government throughout the lifetime of the Strategy. For the final meeting of the Steering Group for the Strategy a Traffic Light Report will be circulated for consideration that will capture the final status of actions under the Strategy. Additionally, the National Disability Authority will evaluate the NDIS once it concludes to produce a comprehensive final review of the progress made and to inform the NDIS's successor.