Mobility allowance reinstatement
Deputy Mattie McGrath called for the mobility allowance for disabled people to be restored, especially for rural users. The Taoiseach said he had asked those working on it for a meeting and would come back to the Deputy.
It is a pity the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, is imithe. Paragraph 7 on page 47 of the programme for Government contains a commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities. It is very sad that the previous Government cut the mobility allowance for people with disabilities to convert their cars and that it still has not been reinstated. It is vital for all people with disabilities, and certainly for people in rural Ireland who cannot access transport services, to have their cars converted. We need it to be reinstated immediately.