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Ombudsman ‘cautiously optimistic' ‘injustice' over personal transport for disabled people ‘about to be righted'
The Ombudsman Ger Deering has said he is 'cautiously optimistic that a long-standing injustice' in relation to supports for people with
disabilities
to access personal transport 'is about to be righted'.
In his annual report for 2024 published today, Mr Deering welcomed a commitment from the Department of Transport to develop a new scheme to support people with disabilities to access personal transport.
Mr Deering has previously said the manner in which people with disabilities continue to be denied access to personal transport supports was 'nothing short of shameful'.
The Ombudsman's office investigates complaints from members of the public who believe they have been treated unfairly by public service providers.
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For more than a decade the Ombudsman and his two predecessors have highlighted the lack of appropriate supports for people with disabilities since the personal Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant were closed to new applicants by the government in February 2013.
Details of the new incentives have not yet been published but the
Department of Transport
has undertaken to introduce such a scheme. It will be separate to the extension of the public transport Free Travel Scheme to people who cannot drive due to a disability, which was announced last July.
The Ombudsman said he will 'closely monitor progress on the Government's new scheme.'
He also called onGovernment to provide 'sustainable and annual funding' to support younger people in nursing homes through the Enhanced Quality of Life Supports (EQLS) scheme and, where appropriate, funding to move younger people to more suitable accommodation.
Following the Ombudsman's
'Wasted Lives' investigation in 2021
– which found some younger people with disabilities did not give informed consent about being placed in nursing homes long term -the HSE set up an 'Under 65 programme' and successfully transitioned more than 100 people to more suitable accommodation.
The scheme also improved the lives of those who could not transition out of nursing homes.
However, the HSE later said there was insufficient funding to continue to assist many of the young people move to more appropriate accommodation, or to continue the programme.
The Ombudsman said, 'it is completely unacceptable that this excellent programme, which brought hope and independence to people with disabilities cannot be delivered because of a lack of funding'.
The Ombudsman's team dealt with 4,673 complaints last year – an increase of nearly 5 per cent on the 2023 figure. In 2024, 1,497 complaints were made to the Ombudsman about local authorities, with 218 received about Dublin City Council and 150 about Cork City Council.
Some 1,397 complaints were received about Government departments and offices with the Department of Social Protection being the subject of 604 complaints.
There were 887 complaints about public bodies in the health sector with 705 involving the HSE and 149 about Tusla.
