Introduction

Purpose of the Sectoral Plan

Under the Disability Act 2005, the Minister for Transport is required to prepare and publish a Plan in relation to disability matters specified in the Act. In that regard, this document sets out the proposals of the Minister for Transport and the agencies under his aegis in relation to the rolling out over the next number of years of a comprehensive programme of accessible transport for people with mobility, sensory and cognitive impairments, together with older people.

Development of the Sectoral Plan

In the preparation of this Plan, the Department held a series of public consultation exercises involving disability groups, transport operators and other stakeholders and participated in a series of regional seminars and workshops in the summer of 2005. These seminars and workshops were organised by the National Disability Authority (NDA) as a means of creating an informed discussion on the six Sectoral Plans being produced under the Disability Act 2005, including the Department of Transport Sectoral Plan. The Public Transport Partnership Forum was also involved in the preparation of the Plan.

A one-day Seminar and series of Workshops with national and international participation was held in Dublin Castle on the proposed Plan on 13 January 2006.

The deliberations on the preparation of the Plan have also benefited greatly from the input received from the members of the Public Transport Accessibility Committee (Appendix 1), the National Disability Authority and the Disability Legislation Consultation Group.