John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. Some of them are not strangers to us but it is probably the first time others have appeared before any committee, which, I know, is a daunting task at the best of times. We are here to help and to put a pathway in place to assist the witnesses and the people they have quite ably represented this morning.

Is Brian here with Mr. Alford today? Mr. Alford mentioned him quite regularly in his contribution. I do not know who is the more tolerant of the two.

I have read the submission from the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, which touched on all of the statistics and figures in terms of unemployment levels. That is all fine. However, to hear at first hand about the barriers in respect of getting into work and sustaining employment that are put in place by the State is critical. Some announcements have been made in the past year concerning medical cards and the travel pass. Last year, the Taoiseach announced that anyone in receipt of a long-term disability payment who gained employment could retain those benefits for five years. I am not sure of the views of the witnesses on that matter, but I do not believe five years is long enough. It is a serious issue which many people with disabilities face. Mr. Moran is from Bray, my home town, and I know him. He has had many battles with our public transport system, including, as one of my colleagues mentioned, having to give notice 24 hours in advance when travelling on public transport. Even with that, there are huge failures within the system. Having a free travel pass is one thing, but having a public transport system that actually works is another. Many people have to rely on taxis. Mr. Moran mentioned in a conversation before the meeting that he might pay up to €500 a month for taxis because of the failures of the public transport system. If anyone else has issues such as that, it would be very useful to know about them.

Another announcement was made about the earnings disregard relating to the medical card. A couple of contributors have spoken about the fear of losing the medical cards. A colleague and friend of mine, Mr. John Doyle, who has unfortunately passed away, always said that when people with disabilities get jobs, their disabilities seem to be cured overnight and they lose their medical cards straight away. One of our guests mentioned this and stated that his problems were cured because he got a job, which is absolutely crazy. John Doyle, who was confined to a wheelchair, detailed the additional expenses that come with being disabled.

He spoke about the price of the cushion on his wheelchair and how much it cost to replace it. The medical card was a cushion to fall back on which sustained him when he was unemployed. That was a barrier that stopped him. He became very friendly with Senator Dolan, the DFI and some other fantastic organisations.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, has made some announcements in respect of the earnings disregard. We have not seen the proposals as yet; perhaps the witnesses could share their views on them.

Ms McAnaspie spoke about entering the workforce without training or experience. I am not sure what part of the country she is from, but I have some experience of dealing with WALK, which is a fantastic organisation working in the Louth area which works with people with disabilities and employers. It helps to place people in employment and works alongside them. It is a fantastic model that could be replicated across the State quite easily. It works for both the individual and the employer. I am not sure if any of the witnesses have any experience of that organisation.

In 1995, the Barcelona Declaration was made and the Government signed up to it. The declaration set targets in many different areas, one of which was employment. It aimed for 3% compliance quota to try to get people with disabilities into State jobs, whether with local authorities or Departments. With the recruitment embargo in place, I am not sure whether that target was achieved. However, since bodies - whether local authorities or across the board - have started hiring again, I know that people with disabilities have been completely overlooked. The State is the largest employer in the country and it could easily achieve the targets that were set. There are many brilliant people, including the witnesses, who are living with disabilities and who want to get into the workforce. The State should not only achieve those targets, it should exceed them.

Ms Ní Mhaolain brought up a serious point. She mentioned that her supports were halved when she was in sixth year. That was a critical time in her education and she described the impact the withdrawal of her supports had. Unfortunately, we are aware of the delays that children face for accessing occupational therapy services. Ms Ní Mhaolain touched on the critical importance of having those services in place and the interventions that have to happen at an early stage. Her comments on that certainly hit the mark and highlighted a serious issue that applies across the board. Having the appropriate level of services cut by 50% at that stage had a real detrimental impact on her.