Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 September 2020
78. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Transport the position regarding the current situation of transport services for persons with disabilities in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26217/20]
View answerAs Minister for Transport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network. The NTA also has national responsibility for local and rural transport, including management of Local Link services.
My Department has, and continues to fulfil its policy and funding role relating to transport for people with disabilities through improving access to public transport services. Significant improvements have been made in making public transport accessible to people with disabilities. For example, accessibility features, such as wheelchair access and audio/visual aids, are built into all new public transport infrastructure from the design stage and we are progressively making older (legacy) infrastructure and services accessible.
However, it would seem that the Deputy’s Question relates to the provision of dedicated door-to-door transport services which would not be open to the public in the way that public transport services are. Such dedicated (closed) services are outside the public transport remit of either my Department or the NTA.
