Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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80. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when her Department will introduce measures to reflect the additional cost of disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35175/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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When will the Minister publish the implementation plan to address the cost of disability?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The issue of the cost of disability is broad and extends beyond the remit of the Department of Social Protection. This is why this important and much-needed research was carried out. The Cost of Disability in Ireland research report will now inform policy from a whole-of-government perspective. The Indecon report identified that additional costs of disability run across a number of areas of expenditure including housing, equipment, aids and appliances, care and assistance services, mobility, transport, communications, medicines and additional living expenses. Indecon also found that there is not a single typical cost of disability. Rather, there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs of disability, depending on individual circumstances.

As the findings of the research have implications for many areas of public policy, a whole-of-government perspective is needed. This is why the Government referred the report to the national disability inclusion strategy steering group, which is chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for disability. This group comprises relevant Departments, agencies, a disability stakeholder group and people with disabilities and will consider and monitor recommended actions required from the various Government Departments on a biannual basis.

As a starting point, a number of the measures I introduced as part of budget 2022 to support people with disabilities and carers reflect some of the findings of the report. These measures included supports to employers and increases to income disregards and core weekly payment rates. Under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion and Pathways to Work strategies, my Department has committed to developing and consulting on a straw-man proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments. The main objective is to simplify the system and remove anomalies. The straw man will also take account of the conclusions of the cost of disability report as part of its work.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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With regard to the report now going to the steering group, is there a timeline for the work the group will do on the report and when it will come back to the Minister? Will the straw-man proposal to look at restructuring long-term disability payments include the domiciliary care allowance? I believe it should. Most people would agree that there are ongoing difficulties in this regard. When you deal with someone applying for domiciliary care allowance, you find that it can take two or three applications before that person qualifies. There are difficulties and, when we are looking at disability, we need to look at all of the payments that are available. How does the Minister envisage this working? Does she foresee a cost-of-disability payment for people who are in receipt of the likes of the disability allowance or the invalidity pension or does she foresee a complete restructuring of existing payments? Will the Minister give me her view on that?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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This report on the cost of disability has implications right across Government and various Departments with regard to things such as access to services, healthcare, transport, mobility grants, the housing adaptation grants available through the local authorities and so on.

There is a lot there. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is leading on the whole-of-government response through the disability inclusion strategy steering group, which she chairs. In fairness, there is no better woman than Deputy Rabbitte to do that job because she is very passionate and a very strong advocate for disabled persons. She is hammering on with that. In my Department, we are looking at the recommendations around the cost of the disability payment. The report recommends a tiered approach to disability payments. This will be a major review. The Deputy and I both know people who have profound disabilities and who might never be able to work. I honestly believe they should get a higher level of payment than a person with a more moderate disability who might be able to do a bit of work. We have to be more targeted in our approach. I will be publishing that straw-man report.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister to give a timeline as regards publishing the straw-man report because it is important that this work is done. It is welcome it is being done but a timeline would be helpful, particularly for the implementation plan on the back of that cost of disability report, which the organisations are seeking. I hope too that in the work that will be done now on restructuring those payments, what they look like and how they work, we also look at people in receipt of disability allowance who are working. There was a briefing a few weeks ago by disabled artists and academics. It is a great shame people with such amazing gifts and talents cannot show them off, sell them or perform because they are so worried about winning a bursary or prize that will impact their disability allowance. That is a great shame and we must look at how work actually interacts with the likes of the disability allowance. People will get their disability allowance, and if they work, they will pay taxes. We need to look at all of that as well.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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.