asked the Minister for Health if he will make public transport facilities free to the mentally handicapped.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Free Transport.
25.
I am not clear whether the Deputy has in mind the provision of free transport facilities to the special services for the mentally handicapped, such as schools and day centres, or whether he envisages free transport in all circumstances.
Transport to schools, which is available free in almost all instances, is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Education. Health boards are empowered to provide free transport to day care centres and workshop facilities. The extent to which this free transport is provided varies according to local circumstances and to the resources which health boards find possible to allocate to this service. While I accept that free transport facilities are desirable in association with mental handicap services I cannot, because of existing financial constraints, insist on health boards extending their present provision in this regard.
If the Deputy has in mind the making of public transport available free in all circumstances to mentally handicapped persons I am sure that he will appreciate that this would have to be considered in the context of a similar concession to other categories of handicapped persons. The current financial circumstances would rule out consideration of the grant of such a concession.
I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his fair-minded reply. What I have in mind particularly, in addition to what the Parliamentary Secretary said, is the question of public transport such as buses for mentally handicapped persons. If a mentally handicapped person is accompanied by a father, mother, guardian or teacher or, so to speak, a normal person, in those circumstances the mentally handicapped person should get free transport. Would it not be among the social priorities of the present Coalition Government to ensure, in the light of the £30 million that is provided each year for CIE by the State, that free transport would be available for mentally handicapped——
That would not seem to be a matter for the Minister.
I know that the Parliamentary Secretary is concerned with the mentally handicapped and I should like to get his views on the proposition I have put to him.
The Parliamentary Secretary is not only interested in and responsible for the mentally handicapped but he is also responsible—and so is the Minister—for all handicapped persons. There are about 100,000 handicapped persons of all categories in this country and the cost of providing free transport for them, as the Deputy will appreciate, would be enormous.
Appreciating the very sympathetic attitude of the Parliamentary Secretary in the matter, may I ask him if he would consider making an approach to the Minister for Education in the context of an expenditure of about £10 million on free school transport and the consultant study that has now been commissioned into that expenditure, so that some consideration could be given to the extension of the facility? I am not asking the Parliamentary Secretary to commit himself now but could he take a note of it and ask the Minister for Education to include it under the terms of reference?
The actual figure for free school transport is £11½ million. All those factors are being considered by a special committee which has been set up to examine free school transport.
A substantial case has been made to a number of Deputies that those who are profoundly mentally handicapped must be accompanied by adults. The cost of travelling from residential centres to their homes is substantial. Perhaps we could discuss the matter.
The Minister for Health and I would be delighted to discuss the matter.
The Parliamentary Secretary informed us that there are 100,000 disabled people who would receive the facilities proposed by me originally. I do not want to discriminate in relation to particular incapacities. Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that in the context of my proposal the mentally handicapped should receive priority? We should not be speaking about a figure of 100,000 immediately.
I do not dispute the figures given to me by the officials of my Department. I agree that there must be priorities. I hope the committee will be meetings shortly to consider all these matters.
Can the Parliamentary Secretary tell us the names of the committee?
I do not know the names of the committee at present but all the voluntary organisations will be represented on it.
(Interruptions.)
Next Question.