Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. One of my sons is a wheelchair user and some of his services are provided by the Rehab Group. The people who come to us from the Rehab Group, without exception, are all wonderful. They are from Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines, Korea and all over the world. They are all the most amazing people and the guy who organises for us is called Fauzi. Every time I ring the Rehab Group and talk to Fauzi he asks me how I am, so he recognises the caring dynamic.

I have a few observations. I thank Mr. Meere for his evidence, for coming here and for taking the time. I mention the business of having to prove over and over again that you have a disability. You never lose your disability but you might lose your benefits. We have had this experience in every aspect of life, for example, when we go on holidays every year. Imagine that; it is such a novel idea. Every year I have to write to the airline and every year the questions are different. They ask what the weight of the wheelchair is and what the dimensions are. They ask how old the dog is and say that if it is over ten it cannot go on an aircraft. Every year they come up with a different question to the extent that I wonder what they will ask us this year. I remember there was no assistance at the door of the aircraft so I lifted Eoghan off the wheelchair and put him in the front row of seats. I went back to get his wheelchair and the cabin crew said that once I was on the aircraft I could not get off it. I asked them what we would do about his wheelchair and they asked if he would need it. I said that unless Jesus Christ was on board and we had a miracle at 38,000 ft, he would absolutely need it. You constantly face this.

When you eventually get a medical card - I do not know if Mr. Meere has had this experience - you get a letter from the HSE saying that your medical card has been reviewed and you have to reapply for it. There is a link in the letter that you follow and you discover that there is no option on the link so you have to ring them up in the medical card services and they say there is no link and you have to start again as if you are applying for the first time. I ask them why the letter does not say that.

When the public services card as a companion for travel arrives, you jump through all the hoops and then you get a letter saying it has been reviewed and you have to reapply for it and prove all over again that you need all this assistance. I would be interested in what Professor Flynn has to say about this. Every agency I deal with, with few exceptions, consists of people who have chosen to work in those areas and every time you engage with them they come up with obstacles.

I mention the effort of getting your socks on in the morning. The dog helps my son Eoghan get dressed and it is like the Olympics trying to get your clothes on. Last week he went past a coffee chain that had street furniture out and he went a bit too close to the kerb and the big power wheelchair fell off the kerb and flicked over onto its side. There was a concrete bollard next to the kerb that he hit his head off. It was a miracle he did not fracture his skull or break his neck and it took several people to get the wheelchair upright again and it knocked him off his perch. Yesterday he told me he will go back to that coffee shop. He worked up the courage to go back to that coffee shop and go past it, to overcome his fear. To put obstacles in the paths of people like us; I do not have any words for it. I mention the passage from the Bible about putting a millstone around people's necks and throwing them in the ocean. These people should be ashamed of themselves.

In addition to a passport for disability, should there be a charter in every workplace that when you encounter a disabled citizen you must do one thing to help them? There should be a rights-based approach. Should that be legally obligatory? In the absence of a culture that supports, scaffolds and empowers our disabled citizens, do we need that? Should we have a charter that is legally binding? Our culture does not have that good will. There are exceptions but you should not be relying on those exceptions. You come across the odd exceptional person who wants to help but everybody should be like that.

On disability allowance and carer’s allowance, when Ms Hughes was talking about the Indecon and Family Carers research, it struck me that it showed that additional expenses every year are about €12,000, and I know in some cases it is much greater than that. I did a quick calculation. The disability allowance comes to something like €11,500 a year. The disability allowance should be raised at least to the level of the Covid payment because that was calculated on the basis of a person living with dignity. It should be, at a minimum, increased to that. Would the witnesses agree that disability allowance should be a universal, global payment, irrespective of one’s employment status? Once a person has a disability passport, he or she should have a global, universal payment without any means-testing, and the same for the carer’s allowance.

In respect of unemployment levels among disabled citizens, is there a regional variation in that regard? Is a person better off if he or she lives in a city? Is there data available to tell us the best and worst parts of the Republic to be in for employment? I know there are good and parts of the Republic to be in with regard to services and supports, which are largely absent, but such as they are.

Given that the situation is so poor, should we have compulsory quotas to get the critical mass? Should there be compulsory quotas for employing disabled citizens? It would be a radical approach but in the absence of progress and us having the worst track record in that regard, should we introduce that?

Finally, I thank everyone for coming in. I thank Mr. Meere particularly. I cannot express how much respect I have for the journey he has undertaken. I know we are not supposed to use the word “inspiration” or anything like that but I wish him continued success and continued good health.