Ms Gillian Kearns:

I will bring in the perspective of another person who was at our event and said they can only work 12 hours a week while receiving the disability payment and it is a real challenge. It is a real challenge because, as Dr. Hassett said, the financial risks of trying to access full-time employment make it extraordinarily difficult for disabled women to access that full-time employment. Removing means testing or, at the very least, increasing the disregard would help. Who can live on €165 a week? During Covid, there was a payment of €350 and that was considered the bare minimum people needed to survive. There is not a disabled person in this country who is in a receipt of a payment anywhere near to that. Yet, we know there is an increased cost of disability. We are expected to live on far less than non-disabled peers. These things have to be taken into consideration. Getting rid of means testing is necessary.