Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for being here. I am also a member of the social protection committee, so will be focusing on work. Disability is a broad subject. Dr. Cousins spoke about somebody with a short-term illness that can progress into being a long-term disability. There are people born with congenital conditions and people who acquire them. People might not realise that 80% of all disabilities are acquired after the age of 18. Many people have participated in work. However, I am interested in Dr. Cousins indicating how we can engage. Has he carried out any studies? There is a gap, namely the first five months where we do not intervene. When we look at it, the figure of 150,000 has risen to 230,000. Are we not engaging? Are we letting things slide? By our not supporting people, we are keeping the purse strings tightened in the context of money that should be reinvested elsewhere.