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

I wish to be clear to the Minister that obviously I am not putting any blame on the staff in offices and I am not putting any blame on doctors filling out the forms; I am just highlighting that the system is not working. It is obviously a dysfunctional system or an overly restrictive system if more than half of the people who apply are refused and then, on appeal, almost two thirds are granted. If it is an issue of doctors filling out the forms, what needs to be done to make that more accessible for people? How is it that so many of these applications are refused and then granted? The Minister spoke about the benefits being available to people but from the report we know that the added cost of having a disability is €9,000 to €12,000 annually. That is obviously a bare minimum and it very much depends on the disability and on other circumstances. While there is a fuel allowance and other different supports, they are just not enough. The Minister can tell us all day that the system is not a barrier for people but it is completely meaningless when we have the highest rates of poverty in the EU for people with disabilities at 38.1%

It is not that I want to come in here pointing fingers at the Minister and placing blame. I am trying to highlight the reality of the situation and what people are experiencing on the ground in order that the Department can try to work to improve that, which I ask it to do, please. There is a blatant problem with the application system when that is the reality of the number of appeals and the number of applications granted after appeal and when we have the highest rate of poverty among people with disabilities in the EU.