Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is great to be here. I think it is my first time at a meeting of the committee since Deputy Curran took over as Chairman. I believe from colleagues that he does a very good job. I am delighted just to sit in on the discussion. I apologise for being very late. I was the lead speaker at a housing committee meeting and I could not leave. I became aware that this committee had guests whose opening statements I would have liked to have heard but I am very familiar with a lot of the content, certainly of the presentation made by Mr. White, who is very welcome, as is Dr. Keilthy and Mr. Reid.

To pick up on a point the Chairman made, and I have discussed it with the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, a couple of times, part of the problem is that one must be permanently certified as not being capable of driving; for life, as such. There are some discrepancies that I believe are being looked at. It is frightfully unfair. Even if people are not in a position to drive because of their eyesight, they should be issued with time-dated travel passes such that in, say, five years' time, if whatever treatment they may go for renders their sight possibly suitable for driving, the passes would become void or whatever. There must be a way around the whole permanency issue.

Overall, the big issue I have with social protection - and we need to start looking at it - is where the welfare system prevents people from having the motivation to go out to work, not because of core payments but, as the Chairman said in his comments, because of the additional benefits that are critically important to people such as medical cards and similar services and important supports. What I would therefore like to see is a move away from a budget process and model whereby we give a €5 across-the-board payment to everybody - including old-age pensioners and contributory pensioners, even if they have alternative sources of income and other pensions - to one which front-loads supports to the areas of greatest need. One such area is to ensure people with disabilities hold on to core benefits when they go into employment. They can get a job for which they have worked hard and suddenly lose a whole raft of benefits. That is not a progressive employment policy, and the thinking in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection must move away from across-the-board payments, full stop, whether in childcare, child benefit or pensions. Supports need to be front-loaded in an effort to get people out of welfare who are well capable of doing so but are terrified of the prospect of losing key benefits, as they would see them, particularly medical cards.

Regarding the National Council for the Blind's budget submission, it had a very successful engagement across the road in Buswells about a month or six weeks ago, probably more at this stage, which many Members attended. The level of unemployment in this country among people who are visually impaired or blind is totally unacceptable, and the advocacy work that Mr. White and his colleagues - Kevin Kelly and others - are doing to try to address that is particularly impressive. I appeal to the Chairman and other Members of the Oireachtas to become more engaged with the work the National Council for the Blind does. I am on its board and I see its work at close range. It is starting to make a difference. With some extra supports at Government and political level, a huge amount could be achieved.

Again, I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to speak and apologise for being late. This initiative from the committee is very worthwhile.