Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their very powerful statements. What collaboration is needed across sectors under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities implementation to realise an effective disability-inclusion social protection model? What changes need to be made in the linkages between social protection schemes and the provision of the relevant services such as education, early childhood development and the economic empowerment?

The witnesses spoke about the need for the introduction of a disability passport in Ireland to access all benefits. What measures are needed to introduce this? While I would welcome it, how would we go about it? How do we start the process?

Mr. Meere noted that a person does not lose their disability, but they could lose their payments. I ask him to discuss this further in terms of the incentives, given that he lost his secondary benefits when he accessed employment. I regard that as unacceptable. As he said, he has worked for a few years and now the system requires him to be assessed again. There is no need for that and it should not happen.

We spoke about the need to individualise an assessment tool for the care of older people. How can this be developed for people with disabilities? While we welcome that people are living longer, that brings significant challenges for the system. We really need to have something in place for that.

I and others have stated previously that it is unacceptable for carer's allowance to be means tested. Carer's allowance should not be means tested. There is considerable goodwill out there. Many families are doing this 24-hour-a-day job and because two incomes are coming into the house, the person is not getting the carer's allowance, which is unacceptable. The care that carers are giving to a family member or a friend is saving the country millions of euro and yet we do not appreciate the work they do. That is a huge bugbear of mine.

I was working with a lovely man recently. His son had several underlying issues. Because of his illness, he needed to go abroad to get the sun. When he came back, he received a bill to say he owed thousands of euro. He had to go away because his sickness was so bad that the only cure he could get was from being away and being in the sun. However, we do not allow that. For medical reasons, he had to leave the country. I have been fighting with the system to point out that he was abroad for medical reasons. He is getting a disability payment, cannot work and is genuinely sick.

As previous speakers stated, nearly everything in the system is now challenged. We need to stand up for our carers and stand up for the payment of a disability allowance or whatever payment. They all need to be looked at. We are in a cost-of-living crisis. Many families coming to my clinics are not making the payments they need to make because they cannot afford it. It is a major issue for us. I know we speak about it here all the time.

I again thank the witnesses. I am very proud of the rehab centre on the Killeshin Road in Carlow. I know all the staff and all people who attend it. The students get great service. I go to see their play every year and there are great singers and everything in it. The way they all mix and the way they are a community in themselves are so important. I see it there because I visit it regularly. I again congratulate all involved. There are major challenges. We all need to ensure we fight these challenges. No one should be living below the poverty line. Through no fault of their own they are on a payment and we need to ensure they have the proper payment.