Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 19 May 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters

Employment and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Pat Murphy:

It is very tricky but certain benefits should remain. There should not be a cliff edge. For example, a medical card for a person with a disability is absolute gold. The fear of losing that is hugely prohibitive to their mindset of taking up employment. The key message I would have regarding benefits is that a medical card is gold.

Mr. Porter is in a similar position at the moment, having taken up employment. We are now trying to argue for him to keep his medical card, which is not encouraging for people.