Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. As he said, I acknowledge our young people going back to work, some starting work for the first time and going to college and the enormously positive future we are trying to create for them and that they are trying to build.

On making work pay, that is why it is important that, after two budgets in which we had no change in personal tax policies, rates, credits and bands, we work hard within the resources available to us to try to preserve and support as much of the income workers earn as possible, and to try to prevent that going into higher levels of taxation just by their wages going up. It is important in the upcoming budget that we recognise this in certain tax changes that the Government has yet to agree but which will be the subject of budget day communications.

The Deputy spoke about those citizens who deal with the consequences of disabilities, for whom daily life and going to work, school or college are more difficult. The Ministers for Health, Social Protection and Business, Enterprise and Employment, have worked on this to try to create pathways to work for those citizens the Deputy is making the case for. We have targets within Departments and public service providers for trying to recruit and retain citizens with disabilities to give them the options to create and develop careers in our public services. I will take the Deputy's point on board. When the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Stephen Donnelly, are working on the health budget for 2022, I am sure this will be given the consideration it needs.