Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because I realise we are close to the end of the meeting. Ms Gallagher addressed many issues in her reply to Deputy Ellis, as well as many of the issues that are raised in this committee on a continual basis. I congratulate her on the work she did in getting the law changed so that PhD students could keep their stipend with their disability allowance and medical card. Many people feel they cannot enter employment for those very reasons. They feel they would lose certain things. It is not even just the disability allowance or the blind pension. The medical card is the big one. They do not want to lose the secondary benefits. Does Ms Gallagher envisage a change coming that would allow people to hold on to those benefits, at least for a period until they see that employment has worked out? I hear from artists and musicians, in particular, whose work is often done on commission and is therefore not a steady income.

From reading Ms Gallagher's statement, I feel she is slightly frustrated with this talk of creating awareness all the time. I had not been on this committee for long when I said to someone that it is like disabilities are a new phenomenon. We have obviously always had disabled people. Much has happened over the years but many things still have not changed and it is frustrating. We talk about housing and transport as the two big issues, but this spans a range of issues.

I congratulate Ms Gallagher on everything she has achieved and on her advocacy. I wish her the best of luck in her future career.