Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department is working at present on a straw-man report as regards what this payment structure is like. The work is ongoing and very complex. The Deputy will appreciate it is also a very sensitive area. I hope we will have that report ready in the autumn. I will then be able to sit down with the various disability representative groups and the Minister of State and talk them through it because we want to get their views and input. The one thing I do not want to do is make changes in this area that do not have the support of the sector. It is crucial we engage with it and bring proposals forward in a way that works for people and is fair. That is the plan there.

I know about the disabled artists. The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has brought in the basic income for artists, and some disabled artists will be better off with that. My problem here is somebody who is an artist getting more money than somebody working in a supermarket who has a disability. I do not want to treat people differently. That is the problem.

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