Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 March 2004
442 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Transport the amount of money allocated by his Department in 2003 and 2004 to directly fund services for persons with disabilities and the amount of money allocated to enabling persons with disabilities to more easily access services of his Department. [8646/04]
View answerAll new investments in public transport infrastructure are required to conform to the highest standards of accessibility. For example, the Luas system and all new rolling stock and buses purchased by CIE are fully accessible.
In addition, my Department provides funding to part-finance accessibility improvements to existing public transport infrastructure and facilities. This funding is used primarily to improve access at bus and rail stations for people with mobility and sensory impairments. Some €4 million was provided for these projects in 2003 and €10 million is being made available for similar projects in 2004. For example, the DART upgrade project which commenced in 2003 includes provision for increasing accessibility for mobility-impaired passengers at DART stations.
