Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No. I actually checked because I did not believe the name was right. I thank Sophia and her dad because they record the information every morning. My heart sinks every morning on seeing the number of lifts out of order. What do people do? If they can go up the stairs, they are grand. If they cannot, they have to ring work again to say they will not be in because they do not have the shillings for a taxi and that the train will not take them.

I want to ask about the lack of employment supports for people with disabilities, specifically the self-employed. I apologise if this was touched on when I was out. We know Article 27(1)(f) of the UNCRPD commits Ireland to "promote opportunities for self-employment, entrepreneurship, the development of cooperatives and starting one's own business", but whenever questions are raised with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment about specific supports for persons with disabilities the replies list all the supports, small as they are, that are generally available for the self-employed. Since these supports are general, could the delegates talk a little about the difficulties faced specifically by people who are self-employed? This is an area that might be overlooked in terms of potential for growth.