Ms Olga Wehrly:

I am a freelancer. I am self-employed but for some jobs, I am on PAYE. My employment is strange in that I work doing voice-overs and as an actor. Days off are not really an issue when you are self-employed, unfortunately. The days off are the days on which you are looking for work. There is another issue that has not been raised yet, but I think we can all relate to it. I find that in the workplace I am trying to come off as not having anything wrong because I do not want to be a burden. As there is an insurance element to it and I have to fill out an insurance form for every job I do, I want to be insurable.

Having had long Covid for the past year, I probably would not have been insurable to be on television or film set because I was experiencing a great deal of vertigo and other significant things. On the issue of days off and annual leave, I do not know it is works in that respect for somebody in my position. In terms of renting and rental accommodation, it is the broader issue of having insecure housing and relying on a private rental market. If we are relying on hyper-inflated markets and the housing assistance payment scheme which, at best, is dysfunctional, it is a precarious system. If one could find an amenable landlord, who would allow one to put rails in a bathroom and so on, it is not a long-term solution because the housing in itself is not a long-term solution. It is about bringing it back to the basics. We need housing, shelter and employment, all of which are core things. Days off and grants for adaptation are amazing but they need to be tied into something that is more suitable for our needs as a whole. I hope that makes sense.