2026-01-20

I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter and thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting it. This is an issue I have raised consistently and to which I have had numerous responses at a State-wide level from the HSE. The HSE points to the number of people, over 22,000 adults, in receipt of HSE-funded disability day service supports at 1,200 locations, working with 97 service providers. It acknowledges that many people with a disability need access to transport to enable each person to attend a day service but that the provision of transport services is not part of core services within disability services. The HSE encourages people to use public transport options and to be independent, understandably, but it recognises that public transport options are not always available to many people throughout the country. Specifically in relation to Meath, it reiterates that day services do not have a separate budget for transport. It says that transport in Meath is managed in a combined way between service providers and the HSE transport manager, who contracts Transport for Ireland, TFI, to supply some historical transport. That is significant. There are 217 service users accommodated on this historical transport to adult day services but there are currently five others on the waiting list for particular transport routes. There is a gap in funding but also in the transport service provision. I want to raise a specific case of one of those service users who is on a waiting list. I have his and his mother's consent to raise their case in the Dáil this evening. It is the case of Noah Gibney from Slane in County Meath. He is 19 years of age, going on 20. He left school last year and has since been attending Prosper Meath in Navan. Noah is a full-time wheelchair user. He has cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disability and scoliosis. He is not independent and cannot use public transport to get from his house to Prosper and home again daily. These services are really important. The response we have from the HSE locally is that, unfortunately, no space is currently available on the route for a second wheelchair, as the bus can only accommodate one at a time. The HSE Meath transport manager advises that Noah continues to be wait-listed for transport provision. It is important that there is no defined timeline for the waiting list. That is really frustrating in this case. The policy objective, which we share, is that people can live independently and be provided with supports to do that. In this case, that is not happening. Noah's mum, Jennifer, has done her very best to secure safe and secure transport for her son, but every door is closed and, as a result, she is bringing him to and from his day services in Prosper every day. That is not a long-term solution and it runs directly contrary to the policy of giving people their independence.

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this really important issue and giving me the opportunity to discuss it on the floor of the House. The specialist disability budget supports a range of services funded through the HSE and delivered by section 38 and section 39 organisations, as well as the HSE. This includes, among other services and supports, day services and rehabilitative training for people with specialist disability service requirements. The HSE funds on an annual basis 97 provider organisations to provide day service supports in line with the new directions policy and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, to more than 21,000 people nationally. The provision of transport is not part of core services provided by the HSE. As a general rule, public transport is used in all circumstances where it is an option. This is in keeping with the principle of mainstreaming, with a clear focus on ensuring persons with disabilities have access to the normal range of services and participate in community life as far as possible. In general, day service users are in receipt of disability allowance and are automatically entitled to the free travel pass. It is recognised that viable public transport options are not always available throughout the country and that transport support needs vary between individuals. This seems to be the case in Noah's situation. In the absence of transport options being made available by the National Transport Authority, NTA, some transport supports are provided by the HSE or funded agencies on a case-by-case basis, and a variety of transport solutions are pursued in different health regions. These include travel training to enable public transport to be used, where appropriate, local transport such as Local Link, and private bus transport. Some service providers provide transport where capacity exists. That sounds like the situation the Deputy has raised this evening. Ireland ratified the UNCRPD in March 2018, which clearly articulates that all State parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access, on an equal basis to others, to transportation. In line with the principle of mainstream-first service delivery, it is incumbent upon all public bodies to execute their functions with proper regard for people with disabilities and Ireland's obligations under the UNCRPD. The HSE has advised that all transport provision in County Meath is managed across a range of services, including disability, between service providers and a HSE transport manager. Day service providers are asked to provide transport to people seeking access to their services. The HSE transport manager contracts TFI to supply some transport. The transport manager covers all transport across disability, primary care, dialysis and some elderly services. The role of transport manager is a legacy role that may be unique to Meath community services. The post is funded across the care groups according to the HSE and there are no transport managers in any of the other five counties that were part of the former CHO 8. There are currently 217 service users accommodated on this legacy transport route, which provides access to a number of adult day service locations. These routes are at capacity, as the Deputy said. As a result, five people are waiting for these particular HSE transport routes. From what the Deputy has said, Noah must be one of those five people. Sanction was provided to the HSE in 2024 for €3.6 million to be used for the upgrade of transport vehicles in disability day services. Building on a similar approach to addressing the issue of ageing vehicles in disability residential and respite services in 2021, this funding was specifically aimed at supporting the provision of vehicles for transport to day services where other transport solutions are not available and where an ageing fleet exists. This funding was allocated to HSE, section 38 and section 39 services on a one-off basis and has supported the purchase of 77 vehicles, which provide services.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I know she understands the importance of these services for Noah and everybody else who accesses them for fulfilment, engagement, development and independence. She has articulated here and in the responses I have got before that a unique set of circumstances exist in Meath. It is a frustration for us in Meath that they were there. It is different now for people coming into the system. The wider point is about the need for an integrated system that can ensure that, where people cannot access public transport for whatever reason, a transport system is in place to allow people to have independence and not to be dependent on individuals. We can all imagine scenarios where someone's carer, support or transport provider, such as a family or friend, is not available because they are sick, away or so on, which has a knock-on impact. I ask the Minister of State to look at this issue, specifically at Noah's case, and at Meath, but also in a wider context at transport for people accessing adult day services. No two cases are the same. There are individual merits, for example, and if a needs assessment was done, a transport need might be identified in an individual case.

The Deputy is right that it is important that not only should we provide access to high-quality day services right across the country, which we are, but we should also ensure that people can get there as easily as possible. I appreciate that and every effort is being made to ensure that local public transport links are provided. In Meath's situation, which is unique, there is a bespoke solution that is working for the people there. I appreciate that there is the waiting list of five, but it is something unique to Meath and I think it is working quite well from the feedback I have had. I will point out now that under pillar 5 of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, our new strategy launched last September, the Department of Transport has the lead responsibility for reducing and, where possible, eliminating transport barriers faced by disabled people. I think that is really important. Under that pillar, there is a commitment to personal mobility and to supporting those who cannot use or easily access any public transport through the provision of enhanced personal mobility options. The Government's ambition is also reflected in the really significant investment being made in specialist disability services in recent years, with record investment of €3.8 billion in 2026 alone. This includes additional funding for a new cohort of 1,400 school leavers and 53 day-service places for non-school leavers. The Government is absolutely committed to supporting people with disabilities and to ensuring they are enabled to reach their full potential in the spirit of the UNCRPD. I thank the Deputy for raising the case with us here today.

We now go back to Topical Issue matter No. 2 from Deputy Malcolm Byrne to the Minister for education to discuss the planned redevelopment at Bunclody Community College.