The Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives, provide greater independence in accessing the services they choose, and enhance their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives.
There have been improvements in access to a range of transport supports available to persons with disabilities in the State, for example the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers scheme, operated by the Revenue Commissioners; and CLÁR funding, which is approved by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, to voluntary organisations providing transport for people with significant mobility issues. Details of the CLÁR Programme for 2020 were announced a number of days ago by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, and the Programme is open for applications from established organisations/groups who are involved in the provision of transport services on a voluntary basis, free of charge, to people requiring wheelchair accessible vehicles to access day care and other services. Areas targeted by the programme include county Cork.
Under the National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017 - 2021, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has responsibility for the continued development of accessibility and availability of accessible public transport.
The Department of Health and the HSE provide specialist disability services, including Day Services and Rehabilitative Training, to people with disabilities who require such services. Transport is not considered a core Health service and as such Day Service funding does not include transport.
While there isn’t a statutory requirement to provide patient transport services, it is acknowledged that some transport supports are provided by the HSE or funded agencies on a discretionary basis; and that without this support many people with disabilities would not be able to access services.
Currently, it is only in the most complex cases that HSE Disability Service considers a contribution to the cost of transport to and from day services. Where such a need is identified it is usually negotiated with the service provider on a case by case basis. On occasion where the service provider is not able to support the provision of transport, the HSE Disability Service or the service provider would engage with Rural Link bus services to see if a service can be facilitated.
The HSE has liaised with the National Transport Authority and disability service providers to explore ways in which the Authority’s services could assist people with disabilities. The National Transport Authority has a total of 17 Transport co-ordinating units called Local Link which provide safe secure and reliable Public Transport services in local and rural areas of Ireland through a combination of scheduled Public Transport services and door to door services.
In this regard and in partnership with the National Transport Authority, the HSE secured Dormant Account monies to fund a project which will map all Disability transport routes nationally, via information gathering by Disability Service providers and HSE Services who provide transport, the “HSE Open Routes project”. The project will identify options to integrate transport services provided by various service providers, and possibly undertake a series of pilot projects based on these options. The outputs of this in-depth study will be used as a basis for considering how to improve access to disability services and how to best make use of local resources. A report on the project is due this year.
I also note that with regard to developments to meet the day service needs of school leavers each year, all new service locations under development are located as close as possible to where people reside so as to reduce the travel time for each person and enable them to be more connected with their own local community.
As the Deputy's question relates to service matters regarding the development of disability services for adults, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) for direct reply to the Deputy.
