John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank both organisations for their presentations and concur with the Cathaoirleach on Mr. Lysaght's presentation. It was powerful and personal and it means so much to hear it first-hand. Unfortunately, we hear such stories every day of the week but it is brilliant to have heard from Mr. Lysaght.

I read the Disability Federation of Ireland's presentation and listened intently today. The increase of 32,000 people in receipt of disability allowance over the past five years is, to say the least, very concerning and it shows that the current activation measures are simply not working. The increase is enough to sound alarm bells. Have the witnesses a breakdown of the numbers of people with disabilities who are engaged in the job activation schemes such as the community employment scheme, Tús, and JobPath? Were they able to obtain those figures?

It would be interesting to hear the witnesses' views, if any, on the new Ability programme announced by Government.

On the comprehensive employment strategy, WALK PEER is one of 14 disability activation projects set up in 2012 and every year there is a concern funding will not be in place. There have been threats after threats. I have met with representatives of WALK PEER on a number of occasions and, to my mind, it is a programme that works and the people involved do fantastic work. Did the witnesses' organisations have any direct contact with WALK PEER? Do they think the programme works? It is concerned with assisting young people who are in receipt of disability allowance obtain paid employment. I think it works but I would like to hear the witnesses' views on whether this model could be replicated and rolled out throughout the State.

I have tabled numerous parliamentary questions seeking a breakdown of how many people with disabilities were employed through the comprehensive employment strategy. Surprise, surprise, the Department states that it does not record those figures. In my book, it is crazy that the Department is not in a position to assess how well the strategy is working. What are the witnesses' views on it?

Dr. Murphy's excellent presentation touched on a lot of areas which this committee has examined, including the area of lone parents. We know the high poverty levels that exist in that regard. It is much the same for those with disabilities. I want to home in on a number of specific areas because I am conscious of the time. I have huge concerns around JobPath, its impact and the privatised model the Department is rolling out. The sanctions that are imposed were touched on already but I have heard horrific cases about JobPath, Turas Nua and Seetec. I produced a report before Christmas on JobPath which deals with the first-hand experiences of those who have been engaged. I do not know if the witnesses have seen it. I also have serious concerns about the local employment service, LES, which appears to be an attempt to push this to the side.

We see that through the annual decrease in referrals across the State to the local employment service which is a major concern. Staff in the local employment services would say people are forced on to the JobPath scheme and at the end of the 12-month period they go the LES, but the LES should have been the first port of call. Do the witnesses consider there should be more of a role for the LES as opposed to JobPath?

There are major difficulties in lone parents' accessing education and we have heard different presentations on that. Do the witnesses have specific views on lone parents in terms of employment activation?