Mr. Michael Doyle:

The general piece in relation to what we could do was asked previously and we did not get to answer in full. Recruitment and retention is an element of it. There is a budgetary piece in having a budget available to support people, be it a personal assistant budget or a PA budget, that is actually personalised. There is a challenge in recruiting staff into that field at the moment. We talked about the alignment to HSE pay scales, but there are also other more practical things we could do in relation to social welfare payments for individuals working as PAs. There is a cap that restricts people taking up positions. A lot of people who work are on social welfare benefits because the flexibility allows them that and the role we require allows for flexibility within it. Many of them wish to work further and take on more hours but if they do, they are penalised. There is a piece in relation to that.

The Deputy also asked about the transport-housing transition from home living into people living in their own community as part of normal society. There is no one answer to that because of individual needs. Every individual needs a different support. What that particular individual needs at that point in time needs to be looked through that lens. It is not that the person should be allocated a volume of service when they are aged 21. That may change through employment, education or taking up relationships the same as anyone in society. A flexible approach is needed. It also needs to be a holistic approach that looks at what support that person needs.

Before the Deputy arrived, we had some discussion on the cost of disability. That is a significant barrier. In a lot of cases, for people to take up employment and enter at a lower level is a financial disincentive to take up that employment, with the equipment and support they may need to do it. We then have people who are struggling right now to have the lights and heat on, who are making choices on a cold morning like this. That is similar to other people in society but there has been a recognition, in the Indecon report and further reports, of how people with disabilities have an extra cost; that is Government recognised. The fact that it has been recognised means it needs to be addressed. We are not expecting that should happen overnight but there needs to be a staged process to it. Somebody who has a permanent disability and is working but does not have a medical card is not an equitable approach to have in society. From my own experience, there is a significant cost to be part of a working society and there is absolutely no incentive for that at the moment.

Ms Cassen will talk about education. She has a better insight into it.