Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister is here because it is abundantly clear that there is a huge disconnect between what the Department is doing and what it needs to do for people with disabilities to enable them to realise their rights.

Disability, employment and social protection are very complex areas and their interactions can either empower or disadvantage people. The approach taken by this Government and previous Governments has not worked. We have one of the highest rates of poverty and social exclusion in the EU for people with disabilities, at 38.1%, while, at the same time, we have the lowest employment rate for people with disabilities, at 32.3%. The system needs flexibility to help people work and receive State payments instead of sharp cliff edges, which can make those working less well-off. Those who have no choice other than the carer's allowance and disability allowance need a guaranteed standard of living. We do not have that. The disability allowance is currently €208. This compares with the pandemic unemployment payment benchmark of €350 for the cost of living. This disparity is not an exercise in comparing figures. It is the lived reality of many disabled people and carers in Ireland.

We know there is a significant added cost to having a disability. The Minister and her Department know that. In fact, everybody knows that, yet the disability allowance is €208 per week. Underlying all of this is the absence of a rights-based approach and a medicalised model of disability. There is little consideration given to the individual and insufficient flexibility to enable independent living.

I was left speechless when the Minister spoke about the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2018 because we were the last country to do so and we did it ten years too late. In addition, we still have not ratified the optional protocol of the UN convention. As such, it is not something to reel off almost as a boast.

Of major concern to this committee is the fact that more applications for the disability allowance are refused than accepted initially but then, on appeal, almost two thirds are granted. Again, the Minister reeled off those figures as if the Department should be proud of them.

That demonstrates a very obviously overly restrictive approach to the application process. In response to Deputy Tully it was said that consistently the medical information part was the problem. What is the Department doing to make the form easier for people to fill out? It is unacceptable that more than half of the applications are refused, and then, on appeal, almost two thirds are granted. That does not make any sense. How is the Department not looking at this and asking, "How do we make sure this does not happen anymore?", instead of looking at it and saying, "Well, people are not filling out their medical information correctly"? What is the Department doing to address that situation?

There is also a significant issue with the disability allowance around the lack of flexibility. Last week, Disabled Women Ireland talked about how many women who are disabled in part-time or temporary employment are fearful that additional work, such as covering a colleague's sick leave or in the case of artists accepting a commission, for example, results in them crossing restrictive thresholds that result in withdrawal of their supports. This is the opposite of a rights-based approach. We need a system that can holistically consider individuals and have flexibility to allow them to temporarily increase their income without affecting their payments. As we said, we are aware that there is an added cost to having a disability and, therefore, the €208 payment is really less than the bare minimum. Any additional work should not affect that very small and inadequate payment. On that, what is the Minister's view on raising the threshold of earnings disregard for the disability allowance by €20?

The social model of disability understands that society creates the disability. Our systems and our buildings are the barriers. The density and complexity of the social protection system is disabling people. With digital literacy issues, access to IT equipment means that online platforms can be accessible, while, at the same time, paper applications can be difficult to access. All social protection forms should be available in plain English and be consistent. For example, the enhanced illness benefit form online is much simpler than the paper version. I am sure I am not the only person who has encountered this. Forms such as those for illness benefit and the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance are not available for download. These are obvious barriers, which the Minister and the Department are aware of, but there are also very easy solutions. Will she commit to all forms being available in plain English and online?

The pandemic highlighted issues such as digital poverty. Will she seek to update the forms for the household benefits package and the telephone support loans to include support for Internet services, broadband, and hardware such as laptops and tablets, as soon as possible?

Inclusion Ireland has suggested the recruitment of job coaches for Intreo offices to provide on-the-job support to enable those with high support needs to obtain and maintain employment. Their assessment is that such supports are not currently in place. What is the Minister's view on such an approach?