Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Níl fadhb ar bith. People have seen my flexibility. I might not allow it again. We will have more ceisteanna anois. Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. This has been really useful. On some level, to a degree, the witnesses have already laid out what the issues are. We get the idea. At least people now talk about the fact that there is a cost of disability. Full stop. We just need to have a payment for it.

We are forthright and people understand that if we do not de-couple the disregards for the supports from whatever financial determinations are made, we will force people to stay within the social protection trap. That is an issue. We have all spoken to people who are worried about losing supports, everything from housing to medical supports. We are talking about employment and entrepreneurship and I am fairly sure the witnesses have talked to some in the Department and even the Ministers, although perhaps not in public.

The wage subsidy scheme does not work perfectly at the moment, far from it. The number of employers and employees is down from what it was years ago. Those who employ more than one person, such as the Rehab Group, speak about the increase in the wage subsidy scheme not being delivered to the same degree for those who employ more than one person and some of those significant elements. That is affecting employment routes. While there have been changes, the wage subsidy scheme needs to be looked at. Mr. Hennessy put is succinctly. Disabled entrepreneurs need to fall into the same sort of bracket. Whether it is a task force or something else, we need some facility to look at best practice so that we can provide something that will work for employers, employees and those who want to engage in entrepreneurship. It is as simple as that.

In recent times, we have also dealt with those engaged with WorkAbility and such projects. We know it works. We just need to do it in a better way. We do not want for it work well in one place when some third level institution does it. The State has to take it on. It is as simple as that.

On work and access, Mr. Jacquinot spoke about reasonable accommodation. The system is too difficult. It does not work well enough. If we were to get a level of truth when speaking to a Minister, we would get a notion that it is not working. While changes have been made, we need something that works a hell of a lot better.

The witnesses will have noticed there is no question. They have already stated what works and where we need to go. The committee needs to find a way to make this happen. My question is for Mr. Hennessy. I will ask for commentary afterwards. He said the LEOs do not work from his perspective. The support schemes are not in place. We do not have an equivalent of the wage subsidy scheme. Will Mr. Hennessy explain how he set up his business and how he was affected? I get that we are talking about something that will be different for every person who is in his circumstances.