It is said that a society can be judged on the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. Last Thursday, hundreds of people gathered outside the gates of the Houses to protest for the rights of people with disabilities and highlight the tenth anniversary of Ireland's failure to ratify the EU Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Those with disabilities and their families face many issues. Parents are distressed about the inadequate provision of care for their children as they get older. Some parents are fearful that their adult children will be moved from congregated settings, where they have lived for most of their lives, to community settings. Parents are struggling to transport their adult children to disability day centres.

Is the Taoiseach aware that a significant number of parents, in particular those living in west Cork and Kerry, are driving their adult children for up to four hours a day to the nearest disability day centre? Elderly parents are being forced to drive their children to and from day centres, which means they have to leave their homes early in the morning and may not return until late in the evening, giving them no break.

I have tried to engage with the HSE on this matter in order to get it facilitate all disability organisations in working together to share their transport services and transport as many people as possible, but the HSE has refused to engage with me and other major stakeholders. I am aware that buses around the country are driving only one adult a day to a centre, bypassing many others along the way due to their age and the fact they attend different centres. I ask the Taoiseach to examine policies to integrate the transport services available to disability organisations and for an increase in the transport budget for disability organisations so that every adult attending a disability day centre is provided with access to transport.

For the first time ever a Minister of State dealing with disabilities sits at the Cabinet table, and Deputy McGrath is assiduous in following up on issues relating to disability. As I understand it, the Bill in respect of the recognition of the convention is on Second Stage and is moving through the House after many years of anticipation.

I am sure it is possible to streamline the transport services in a more effective way. This applies in any case where new people have to avail of disability services of one sort or another. I suggest Deputy Collins speak directly to the Minister of State, who will have first-hand information for him. If Deputy Collins is making the case that HSE services are not listening to him, I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who has responsibility and a serious budget for a range of disability areas, albeit there are challenges, would be interested in taking up the case.

The Taoiseach said the disability convention Bill is on Second Stage. While I am happy to hear that, it has taken ten years to get there. That is a long time for people with disabilities to be waiting. The bottom line is that the Taoiseach says I should contact the Minister of State, but these services should be available to those with disabilities already. The fact is that if one has a child with severe disabilities who is 18, he or she is not entitled to a free transport service to day-care centres. If that child is a day younger than 18, he or she will get a free transport service. That is a fact. I have been approached by parents all over west Cork and Kerry and there are probably others throughout Ireland. Parents have been travelling on a daily basis from Bandon, Bantry and Skibbereen to and from the service in Cork, which is a twice daily journey. I have met with those parents and spent time discussing the matter with them. I have been in contact with the HSE but I cannot succeed in getting people to sit around the table despite the fact that we still have a situation in which buses with only one or two people on board are passing very close to these centres already. It is simply a matter of people sitting down and using their heads. There must be a policy that can be applied. Does the Government have a policy to provide a free bus service to day-care centres for children or adults with disabilities after the age of 18? Is that a factor?

I note the Deputy's comment on the convention on disability. It is on Second Stage, but it is only a matter of formal recognition and signing up to a convention. It will not change the transport scheme in west Cork. I suggest the Deputy sets out his problem and his proposition and indicates to the Minister of State those who are not listening or will not sit around a table. If he has a recommendation for greater efficiency in the delivery of services for disabled children or adults in the constituency where it could be made more effective by having more people travel on a single bus to different day-care centres, I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, who has responsibility for the area and is very active in trying to deal with many of these problems, will be happy to respond to him.