Vol. 453 No. 3
180 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the amount and nature of all spending within his Department and by bodies under his Department's aegis on schemes specifically directed towards meeting the needs of people with disabilities. [9377/95]
The Department does not operate specific schemes directed towards meeting the needs of people with disabilities and therefore the question of expenditure does not arise. Facilities for employees with disabilities are provided for as required and are not specifically costed.
With regard to expenditure on such schemes by State bodies under the aegis of my Department, I have been informed by these bodies of various measures and programmes for people with disability. The associated cost of these initiatives is not easily identified as it is subsumed into the overall costs of the bodies concerned.
However, I can specify expenditure of about £400,000 by the CIE Group during 1994, including a once-off expenditure by Dublin Bus on five wheelchair accessible mini-buses. I can also indicate financial support by Telecom Éireann for the National Relay Service for the deaf to the amount of £416,000 and a free directory inquiry service for the visual impaired at a cost of some £68,000 per annum.
