Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1468.To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of service users currently availing of transport provided by each HSE funded adult disability service in each county; the number who are both waiting or who have requested transport to be provided to attend each of those same adult disability day services; and if he will put in place additional funding and resources in Budget 2025 for the provision of transport to adult disability services to meet the demand for those in need of it, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35152/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE provides specialist disability services, including Day Services and Rehabilitative Training, to people with disabilities who require such services. While day service funding does not include funding for transport, some transport supports are provided by the HSE or funded agencies on a discretionary basis, and a variety of transport solutions are pursued in different CHO areas. These include travel training to enable public transport to be used, where appropriate, local transport such as Local Link, private bus transport and taxis, and some service providers provide transport where capacity exists.

In general, day service users are in receipt of disability allowance and are automatically entitled to the Free Travel Pass.

The HSE have been working with the National Transport Authority on this issue of transport to day services, through the ‘Open Routes’ project. Open Routes is based on the idea that transport to HSE services such as day services would be best served by accessible local public transport such as the Local Link, transporting people to their day services, but also serving the wider local community as well with enhanced public transport provision.

The approach is being piloted in Leitrim. The NTA advise that the Integrated Pilot Project was developed in close collaboration with the HSE, with a revised network that is designed to meet the needs of mainstream public transport users as well as the transport needs of passengers with disabilities and those accessing health care services in the county.

To date all feedback with regard to the pilot from stakeholders such as HSE, day service providers, external stakeholders and passengers has been very positive. In addition to the positive feedback, passenger numbers on Regular Rural Services has grown considerably since the introduction of the revised TFI Local Link network for County Leitrim. This is a model that could be applied in other parts of the country, with the NTA leading on this and working closely with local partners such as the HSE.

Under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy, the Department of Transport has responsibility for the continued development of accessibility and availability of accessible public transport. To develop proposals for better coordination of transport and mobility supports for people with disabilities, a Transport Working Group was established to make progress under Action 104 of the NDIS. The Group’s final report has been published and it contains valuable proposals to inform future policy and action. It will be incumbent on all Government departments and agencies with responsibility for transport and mobility supports to consider the proposals in coordinating on next steps.

As this question refers to numbers of service users availing of transport, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.