Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My specific point was there is an interface between jobseeker's allowance and disability allowance which is reaching a point where it will be our mark now as there will be three levels of disability allowance. At the lowest level of disability allowance, tier 3, there is an interface and a no-man's land for those who are not going to pass the test of being disabled yet, on the other hand, to a point are not in a position to engage with employment. At the moment these people are penalised because they are effectively thrown off or their jobseeker's allowance is reduced.

It is important, when we look at disability allowance qualification and so on, that we get this interface right because it is the interface that causes us all the grief. My own personal view is that it is a Victorian proposal that a person must be available for work and actively seeking work, that it is a legal requirement and if a person does not do that then he or she is out of the payment, which is the law. I want this matter teased out because otherwise one gets unnecessary migration and push people towards disability allowance, or applying for it at least, because there is no other way out of their dilemma.