Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I am intrigued by that response. It is quite comprehensive. As the Minister of State was going through it, I was not sure whether we were going to a space where the Minister was working on it. Towards the end of the response, it appeared the Minister of State outlined the Minister is aware of the issue and is working on it but he seemed to indicate that there is not an issue. However, there may be individual cases which the grand sweep of what the Minister is trying to achieve will not cover. I ask the Minister of State to outline to the House that somebody in receipt of disability support will be classed as a self-employed person and on that basis, he or she should not have any concerns about losing whatever supports he or she has.

As the Minister of State can appreciate, the arts are about giving license to those who have tensions within their lives to express them and if we are excluding those with disabilities from this scheme, then that will be a major disadvantage, not only for them but for the wider Irish society. I am intrigued to get more detail on the Minister of State's response. It appears to be welcome.

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