Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will have to be brief. I will ask my questions and hopefully we can get an answer in that slim time slot. I would first raise the issue of the basic income for the arts scheme. Just before it was rolled out, the Minister gave a promise that she would work closely with the Minister for Social Protection to ensure disabled artists could participate. At the time I do not think any reassurance was given that people could hold onto their disability supports and would not lose them or any other basic supports. There was a case recently where someone had availed of the scheme and was on jobseeker's allowance. They had been in receipt of both for a while and were told several months later that they owed €3,000 and were forced to pay that back. They are paying that back now through their basic income scheme. They have less income now than they ever had. Are there similar cases for artists with disabilities? Were artists in general wary of applying for it in case they lost their supports? Is the scheme fit for purpose in its current format? I think I know the answer to that but I just want to hear it from the witnesses so the Minister will hear it as well. That is for Mr. Keane and Ms Conway and maybe Dr. Hartney.

Ms Soraghan and Mr. Kearns made reference to the UNCRPD. I am curious about the issues they highlighted today. Do they believe the Government has fallen way short of delivering on what it signed up to in 2018, particularly in relation to policy areas around access and participation in local community arts etc.? I ask them to outline some of that for us.

Dr. Byrne spoke about nursing homes and day care centres and the fact that there is no onus on activity co-ordinators to provide everyday provision for arts activities. I know there has to be some protection in legislation. Have the witnesses or anyone else been in touch with the HSE or Nursing Homes Ireland, or other nursing home groups? They have the activities scheduled every week. They charge residents additional charges for those activities and they already have their budget there. Have the witnesses got a sense of why they do not actually broaden it out and provide additional activities in arts? What is the reluctance there when they have the budget and residents have paid additional money for it? Why do they not broaden it out for people's enjoyment? Sometimes you might see a busted box of a jigsaw opened and thrown on the table in a nursing home setting-----