Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that response. It is an encouraging number. I did not think we would be at that level already. That is good.

I will highlight two issues in this regard. The Minister flagged one regarding the recruitment process. Someone came to me about the starting the process of trying to look for a job, and a person with a visual impairment, for example, would encounter unseen barriers. That is something we must keep under constant review to ensure we are getting it right. Another area that might prove to be a constant barrier for people is the availability of personal assistance hours. Those often come through a different Department than the Minister's, but a barrier for people might be the conflation of personal assistance hours for daily living with those for employment. The Economic and Social Research Institute flagged this issue in 2020. It puts people in the position where they must make a choice between their allocation of personal assistance hours for daily living and those for employment. Is the Department aware of this issue and will it be considering it? Does the Minister think there might be a benefit to differentiate between personal assistance hours for employment and those relating to general life?