I wish to raise the issue of wheelchair access Bus Éireann's urban, as opposed to Dublin, fleet and I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise the matter. Attempts to examine the problems of people with disability must focus on the interlocked questions of independence and economics. More than 90,000 people live with disabilities, a disproportionate number of whom live in poverty. Last year the Irish Wheelchair Association estimated that the unemployment rate among its members was almost 90 per cent, the highest in any group. The stark reality is that between 50 per cent and 60 per cent of people with disability live on or below the poverty line.
Poverty and dependence on public transport go hand in hand. People with disability face economic and social exclusion and their isolation is further exacerbated by lack of accessible transport, which in most cases involves public transport. This problem has been addressed recently in the UK where the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee made a number of recommendations aimed at improving accessibility, particularly wheelchair accessibility, to public transport.
In upgrading its fleet Dublin Bus has made substantial progress in this regard.
I understand that approximately half of its fleet conform to the recommendations of the advisory committee. However, only 12 per cent of its urban fleet comply with those recommendations and that figure will increase only with the acquisition of new buses. The information was given in reply to a question tabled by Deputy Byrne on 21 June. We can assume progress on the urban fleet will be painfully slow, that disabled city dwellers living outside Dublin are being discriminated against, effectively being excluded from public transport.
I am acutely aware of the problems faced by disabled people living in Cork wishing to travel from one part of the city to another. The overall problem of poverty will not be addressed unless we allow people access to employment. If a disabled person's mobility is restricted and he does not have access to transport he cannot attend an interview for a job.
I consulted some of my colleagues around the country. I have been informed by councillor John Ryan in Limerick that similar problems are encountered by disabled people in Limerick. There is urgent need to address the overall problem of public transport for disabled people outside the Dublin area in much the same way as it has been addressed within the Dublin city area. People with disabilities cannot await the introduction of new vehicles into the fleet. The time has come for Bus Éireann to take seriously the concerns of its disabled customers, of whom there are 90,000 either by introducting wheelchair accessible buses or implementing the necessary modifications to its existing fleet.
I spent the afternoon attending a joint meeting of the Select Committee on Social Affairs and the Sub-Committee on Development Co-operation of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs that dealt with social exclusion occasioned by poverty. Any examination of statistics on people with disabilities, the circumstances in which they fall into the poverty trap along with their unemployment rate must lead us to the conclusion that otherwise highly skilled educated people do not have the opportunity to integrate socially and have access to job opportunities.
