Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 8, after line 32, to insert the following:

“Report on the means-testing for Blind Pension and Disability Allowance

16.The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the means-testing eligibility requirement for Blind Pension and Disability Allowance and the impact that income threshold limitations have on access to these schemes and the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 9 months of the enactment of this Bill.”.

During Question Time this week, the Minister confirmed that the blind pension and disability allowance would be looked in terms of that straw-man proposal as regards long-term disability payments. I am satisfied with that in respect of amendment No. 10. As I have mentioned to the Minister many times, I believe the blind pension, in particular, needs to be looked at and I welcome that it will be reviewed through the work already under way. I have used this example before. I have a lady in the office who is blind. Her partner got a promotion at work, which was great news, but as his income increased, she lost her blind pension. She is blind, but as far as the Department is concerned that is just tough. That needs to be reviewed. I welcome that work will be under way. I intend to withdraw amendment No. 10.

Regarding amendment No. 11, the Minister will have engaged with disabled artists and disabled academics regarding artists in receipt of the disability allowance and the blind pension. With this amendment I particularly want to focus on one issue. If an artist in receipt of blind pension or disability allowance wins a bursary or an award of funding through the Arts Council, that is great. However, it is taken in its entirety as income and assessed in its entirety by the Department regarding their income support. That part of the amendment should be looked at because winning something or getting an award should not be treated as income when it comes to disability allowance and blind pension for artists. It impacts the development of artists and I ask the Minister to look at it. The group has brought this to the Minister. It has also made suggestions on the creation of a disabled self-employment support scheme and there are other issues. However, the classification of income should change. Bursaries, commissions, awards and grants awarded by the Arts Council should be disregarded when it comes to blind pension and disability allowance. Let us allow the artists in receipt of those income supports to continue with their art and if they do well, they should enjoy that award or that bursary without its impacting on their income support on which they are heavily dependent.

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