Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

New legislation will make it illegal for transport providers to discriminate against people with disabilities - Curran

Published: 15 September, 2009

Sinn Féin councillor Brendan Curran has welcomed moves towards new legislation that will make it illegal for transport providers to discriminate against people with disabilities.

Cllr Curran also commended Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy's decision to fund a pilot scheme on the use of audio-visual technology to assist disabled public transport passengers.

Cllr Curran said:

"This week the Office of First and Deputy First Minister will be briefed on the final consultation report into the new disability discrimination regulations.

"When they are introduced, these regulations will close a loophole in the current law which means that operators of public transport services are currently exempt from the protections of the Disability Discrimination Act.

"In future, these services - such as buses and coaches, taxis, trains, rental cars and breakdown recovery vehicles - will be required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure their services are accessible to people with disabilities.

"I very much look forward to the regulations being introduced as I believe they can make a positive impact on the lives of less able people across the North.

"I am pleased to say that Conor Murphy has instructed Translink to carry out a pilot scheme assessing the viability of this technology and I again look forward to the completion of that scheme."