Check against delivery
I would like to begin by congratulating the Chair and members of the Committee and all those who contributed to the work of the Committee, especially those with a disability and who have direct experience of using public transport, on the development of the comprehensive report we see published today.
I think the report captures very well the impact on people with disabilities, from the personal testimonies conveyed to the Committee, when our public transport system is not accessible to them for whatever reason – be that because of inaccessible infrastructure or operational failings. What comes through very clearly is the anxiety people with disabilities experience when they wish to use public transport, because quite simply they cannot feel confident that they will be able to either get on or off the bus or train. Nobody should feel that way.
To address the obstacles identified, the report’s recommendations cover a wide range of measures and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to advance their implementation. Indeed, I am advised, that a number of the measures recommended are ones which are already underway or are being developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and/or the public transport operators.
As Minister with responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, I was grateful for the opportunity to address the Committee last February. One of the things I outlined was my determination that people with disabilities would have a voice at the highest level within the state public transport companies. I committed to having at least one board member in each company who has personal knowledge and experience of the needs and difficulties of people with disabilities using public transport. As you know, following an open competition run by the Public Appointments Service, I subsequently appointed such directors to the boards of CIÉ, Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and the NTA.
I believe that these new directors can play a key role in assisting the public transport companies to make practical and informed decisions on how best to make their infrastructure and services more accessible for people with disabilities.
The importance of an accessible public transport system to the lives of people with disabilities recognised by Government through the National Disability Inclusion Strategy and the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities. They, together with a number of other Government strategies and plans, contain over 50 accessible public transport related actions for which my Department, the NTA and/or public transport operators have lead responsibility and to which we are wholly committed. These actions form the basis of the Work Programme of the Department’s Accessibility Consultative Committee which monitors and reviews progress on their implementation.
While good progress is being made in implementing these actions, I don’t wish to overstate this because I am fully aware that much remains to be done. In terms of new public transport infrastructure and vehicles, accessibility features, such as wheelchair access and audio/visual aids, are built into these from the design stage: newer systems such as LUAS being fully accessible; Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann city fleets are 100% wheelchair accessible; as is approximately 86% of Bus Éireann coach fleet and this will increase as the coach fleet is replaced; 17 rail stations have been built to accessibility standards since 2007, while on board audio and visual ‘next stop’ announcements are available on all Dublin Bus fleet. Furthermore, investment in public transport will be accelerated under the National Development Plan (NDP) to support the development of an integrated, accessible and sustainable national public transport system, with a number of new major public transport programmes to be delivered under the Plan.
The real challenge is in relation to infrastructural legacy issues. To address this, my Department funds an ongoing retro-fit programme managed by the NTA, to facilitate the roll-out of accessible bus stops, upgrade train stations to make them wheelchair accessible and provide grant assistance to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis. At this stage all Dublin Bus stops and Bus Éireann stops in regional cities are wheelchair accessible and of the 143 rail stations on the Irish Rail network, 84 are now accessible. However, I am conscious that significant gaps continue to exist, not least in bus stop infrastructure outside of the cities.
I have secured almost €28m for the retro-fit programme for the 4 year period to 2021 which is a trebling of the previous allocation. Funding for the programme will increase from €4m this year to €7m in 2019 and there will also be continued investment in the retro-fit programme under the NDP.
Finally, as requested by the Committee in its report, I am happy to provide updates every six months in relation to public transport policy and funding recommendations. I will also arrange for transport operators and/or the NTA to update the Committee on operational related recommendations.