Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to the amendments I believe will be brought forward, and which I have had sight of, when we come to the closing remarks.

I ask the Minister not to proceed with the proposal as set out. I know it is a consultation and this debate is part of that. I am rebutting it. I am elected to the House and have a right to speak on it. I ask her to instead make disability allowance a universal, non-means tested payment that will begin to address the extra cost of disability. That would take people out of poverty, and enhance and assist them in their desire to work or participate in the cultural, social and economic life of the State. They are the two objectives the Minister set out. That is the way to do it. The proposals set out in this document will achieve nothing and will not lead to a single job for one disabled person; rather, it will only lead to a mushrooming in the private health sector of people carrying out these assessments.