Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know Deputy Ó Cuív wants to come in, but I have one question for the Minister. There was a plan under her predecessor, former Minister, Senator Regina Doherty, to look at the cohort of people on disability payments to see how we could engage with them and get them involved in employment and workplace participation.

The Minister spoke about the Social Insurance Fund and how it is far more positive today than had been projected. The reason for that is we have seen a dramatic increase in workforce participation levels. It went up by a phenomenal 2%. None of the economists ever projected that could be done over a two-year period. Much of that was down to the flexibility provided by remote and online working. Of all cohorts within the workforce the people on these payments are those who could disproportionately benefit from that . There is absolutely no doubt about that.

However, the sad reality is that they are the furthest away from employment. Many of them have huge skills deficits, even in terms of engaging with technology, because they have been on the margins of society up to now. We are trying to increase workforce participation rates and engaging with the most disadvantaged people within our community. As we know, when there is a working wage coming into a household, even a part-time one, it lifts that family out of poverty but also provides for a greater opportunity for the next generation to actively participate in the workforce. In the context of all of those aspects, is there intention now to revisit the plan of the former Minister, Senator Doherty, and look again at those people who are on illness and disability payments to see how we can assist them even in partly contributing to the economy?