Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

It is very good but it is a very difficult watch because it is about people with disabilities who are forced to go through medical assessments under the work capability assessment introduced by the British Tory Government. Their disabilities and inability to work is not being recognised. It is a heartbreaking and very difficult film to watch. The reason I ask is that it seems the Government is out to make this film happen in real life in Ireland by copying the Tory policy of the work capability assessment. That is the essence of the Government's proposals in relation to the disability and domiciliary care allowance by introducing a medical assessment to assess capability of work and putting people into three different tiered categories based on how much they can work. It is rooted in a fundamentally Victorian view of the deserving and undeserving poor. Either a person is fit for work or they are not. The idea of a tiered system is just about dragging people through the mill and putting huge pressure on them.

A woman, who was in touch with me, is the parent of four children, all of whom have disabilities. She also has a disability. She said that the assessment process would be dehumanising and soul-destroying to try to prove that you and your children are "disabled enough" to get the support needed.

If the Government is genuinely concerned about persons who are long-term sick, it should change the current conditions to qualify for the invalidity pension. If someone's medical condition deems them permanently incapable of working, they should be automatically entitled. If there is a real desire to help people with disabilities into the workforce, an onus should be placed on employers for real inclusion. The Government should expand illness benefit qualifying criteria to allow self-employed persons to qualify.

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