6 Márta 2013, 19:13
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions this afternoon engaged with the Secretary General at the Department of Health and Children, Dr Ambrose McLoughlin on the decision by his Department to end the Mobility Allowance Scheme and the Motorised Transport Grant.
6 March 2013
Chairman of the Committee Pádraig Mac Lochlainn says: “We thank Dr Ambrose McLoughlin and his officials for a detailed update on the efforts underway in his Department to find a satisfactory replacement to these schemes. Having giving the issue careful consideration in recent months, Committee Members are conscious of the complexities at hand but relayed our disappointment of not being adequately informed in advance of the termination of the schemes.
“We heard Dr McLoughlin state that his Department are determined to do everything in their power to ensure the needs of those at the centre of these scheme and that a wide range of options were on the table for consideration to resolve the issue. Dr McLoughlin outlined the composition of the review group established in recent weeks, whose work is underway. The group is independently chaired by Sylda Langford and includes representatives of people with disabilities and will seek solutions which can be delivered within the available funding of €10.6 million.
“We note that the Department has engaged for many years in lengthy deliberation on seeking a solution that would sustain these schemes. A number of Committee Members pointed out that perhaps airing such issues in a more public manner when they arise might lead to more transparent and robust policymaking into the future. We as a Committee stand ready to assist in contributing to a workable and realistic solution to replace the flawed schemes.”
Later in the session, the Committee heard from representatives from the Center for Independent Living. Michael McCabe, Chairman and Gary Lee, Chief Executive outlined to the Committee their perspective on the termination of the schemes. Nineteen CILs provide a service for 7,000 people with disabilities across the country.
Deputy Mac Lochlainn continues: “People with disabilities should have a say and should be centre stage with decisions that affect their lives. We thank the Center representatives for candid and impassioned addresses, in which they outlined the uncertainty many of the beneficiaries are facing in the coming months. With current funding ending on 27 June, the presentations underlined to our Committee the urgency of the situation. We understand fully the imperative of finding a way forward on this issue that is centred on safeguarding the independence and autonomy of the citizens who currently benefit from the schemes.”
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
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Committee Membership
Deputies:
Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit Alliance
Joan Collins, People Before Profit Alliance
Michael Conaghan, Labour
Alan Farrell, Fine Gael
Charles Flanagan, Fine Gael
Michael Healy-Rae, Independent
Peter Mathews, Fine Gael
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Sinn Féin (Chairman)
Michelle Mulherin, Fine Gael
Derek Nolan, Labour
Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin
Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Fianna Fáil
John Paul Phelan, Fine Gael
Senators:
Trevor Ó Clochartaigh
Jimmy Harte
Tony Mulcahy
Susan O’Keeffe