Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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92. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the engagements he has had in respect of the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme. [5849/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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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.

Action 104 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy, which concluded at the end of 2022, contained an important cross-Government action to review transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities and to advance proposals for the enhancement of these supports going forward. The Action 104 Transport Working Group was established in 2020 to make progress in this regard.

I chaired meetings of the Transport Working Group from January 2022, from which point the participation of the Department of Finance in the work of the Group was facilitated for the purposes of including the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme in the Group's holistic considerations. This was arranged following engagement between the former Minister for Finance, Pascal Donohoe T.D., and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman T.D., on the matter.

In that regard, I would note that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth has a policy coordination role in relation to disability matters but does not hold responsibility for the specific parameters or administration of any transport or mobility supports for people with disabilities. The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme remains the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Finance and is administered by the Revenue Commissioners.

The discussions at the Transport Working Group were particularly enriched by the contributions of Disability Stakeholder Group representatives, and other disability organisations, who ensured that the lived experience of people with disabilities remained at the centre of considerations.

The Group's work has now concluded, and the final report which sets out the contributions made by members of the Transport Working Group for the enhancement of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities is presently being finalised, and subsequently will be published on the website of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth.

It will be incumbent on colleagues across Government with responsibility for transport and mobility supports to carefully consider how the recommendations of the Transport Working Group ought to be advanced.