Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I am raring to go. I hoped I would be next. We talked about ethnic identifiers. I do not mean to sound disrespectful but, sometimes, people want to identity their disability and have it on record how they are being treated within the service. Many a time, people from ethnic minority groups, including members of the Traveller community and black people, believe it is important to have an ethnic identifier in every Department. Following on from what Deputy Collins said, I understand the officials said they do not believe there is a need for it but as somebody from the Traveller community who works closely with AsIAm, we believe it is very important in the services. Maybe it is something they will look at in future.

The 85% unemployment rate for people who are autistic is a startling number. It should not be forgotten these are people who cannot seek employment because of their disability. Again, I speak as somebody from a community with very high unemployment. What measures has the Department taken to ensure existing schemes are robust in respect of equality, especially as regards autism, since that is the focus of this committee? What is the Department doing to ensure those people are included in schemes and making autistic people a priority? Access to schemes is very important because we often forget about intersectionality. A person can be autistic, black or brown, or a member of the Traveller community, etc. Does the Department do work with disabled people's organisations, DPOs? Does it have a good working relationship with those organisations?

It has been mentioned, and I have mentioned this many times on the floor of the Seanad, at this committee and to the Minister, the application forms for disability allowance, going back 15 or 20 years ago, and today, remain difficult for people with a disability to fill in. According to a 2020 figure, 63.6% of people with a disability who are refused DA then have that decision overturned. I have that figure in front of me. Have we any more recent figures, as that figure is from two years ago, on what it is like in 2023? How many people have been refused, only for that decision to be overturned? That is not robust or good practice. I need the officials to know that my argument is not directed at them personally; it is around the practice of the Department.

The Department is looking at introducing a pay-related benefit for jobseeker's allowance, where the payment will be based on people's jobs before they looked for that allowance. I am looking at autistic girls and LGBTQI+ people who are autistic. How will we make sure that people are not discriminated against under this new scheme the Department is bringing in?