Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Feighan for raising this very important issue because the Government and I are very committed to ensuring that persons with a disability are supported in order for them to fulfil their employment ambitions and to address those barriers that might prevent them from doing so. I visited the headquarters of Spinal Injuries Ireland two weeks ago on foot of an invite to open its new office and centre. It is something of which I must be supportive. The issue of medical cards arose with all the residents and patients there. They were all very enthusiastic about getting into the workplace. There were a lot of talented people in that room and it had a lasting impression on me.

The Senator will be aware that an interdepartmental group was established under the comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities to address the issue of making work pay for such people. The group's Make Work Pay report, which was published in April last year, found that the single most significant barrier to taking up employment or increasing the number of hours of employment for people with disabilities is the potential loss of the medical card. Essentially, there is agreement on that particular issue. To address this, the report contained two key recommendations relating to medical cards. First, it recommended that the medical card earnings disregard be increased from its current level of €120 for persons in receipt of disability allowance or partial capacity benefit. To that end, the Department of Health, the HSE and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection have been examining proposals to give effect to this recommendation. Officials are working to finalise the proposal and the Minister for Health expects to be announcing details of how this change will be implemented in the coming weeks. The second recommendation regarding the medical card was to remove the requirement that work undertaken for the medical card earnings disregard must be of a rehabilitative nature. I am happy to confirm that this measure was implemented by the HSE last year.

Implementing both of the measures to which I refer will ensure that persons in receipt of disability allowance will now be in a position to have greater earnings capacity and can do so safe in the knowledge that their medical card, which enables them to access many vital health services, will be retained. Support is also provided for persons who have been on a relevant welfare payment for a year and who then take up employment. Such individuals can retain the medical card for an initial three-year period after taking up employment. That is another important feature. At the end of the period, cardholders will be assessed under the normal rules of the medical card scheme. Should a person's income be above the relevant limit, he or she will be considered for a discretionary medical card, or a GP visit card, which takes account of the extra costs that arise from an illness or a disability.

The Make Work Pay report contained a range of recommendations right across the span of Government, all of which are all intended to help those with disabilities to fulfil their employment ambitions. Working together, we will ensure that persons with a disability are afforded every opportunity to maximise their employment potential, which will be beneficial for their own lives and society generally. I feel very strongly about spinal injuries and I am completely in agreement with what the Senator said.