Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is right that at a time when employment rates are so high, the lack of employment for disabled people is even more stark. The absence of joined-up policies is a key issue here. For example, poor public transport means disabled people cannot get to jobs. In Cork South-West, many Local Link services only run in the mid-afternoon which means people cannot use them to get to work. The services are just not designed for that. Many disabled people face an income cliff when they get a job as many of their social welfare supports suddenly stop. The social welfare support system should recognise that there is a cost of disability, whether one is in employment or not. There should not be a disincentive for people to go into employment.

I realise some of these issues relate to other Departments but in the context of employment, the Minister has a role in addressing all of the structural barriers for disabled people. On a matter directly related to his portfolio, I ask him to outline what he is doing to support disabled entrepreneurs. In terms of standard PAYE jobs, there are supports for disabled people but this logic has not been applied to disabled people seeking to start their own business.

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