Thursday, 26 Feb 2026

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

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Youth Unemployment

Questions (1)

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

1. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to the rising rates of youth unemployment; the strategies he is developing to address this issue; if his attention has been drawn specifically to the causes of unemployment for the 18- to 24-year-old cohort; the extent to which he has investigated the impact of automation and AI on the youth labour market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15402/26]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

My question, as the Minister will see, is simple and straightforward. I hope he has plenty of very enlightening answers for me. The question concerns the issue of youth unemployment and, in particular, the impact of automation and AI, which is causing a bit of what might be called a bottleneck. Where previously there would have been a pipeline to move through, a lot of younger people are getting stuck because jobs they would traditionally have moved into are now being done by AI and automated in other ways.

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Dara Calleary)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist thábhachtach seo. According to the latest labour force survey, which was released by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, on 19 February, employment has been increasing for young people, standing at 323,200, which is up 6,000 over the past year. Reflecting this, the youth unemployment rate of 9.8% in quarter 4 of 2025 is lower than a year earlier, when the rate was at 9.9%.

It is important to note that youth employment is in most economies generally about twice the level of unemployment. This is because youth labour data is impacted by participation in education.

When participation in education is taken into account, the results of the survey also show that the rate of those not in education, employment or training stands at 6.3%. This rate includes not just young unemployed people but also younger people who may be disabled. The rate remains low by historical standards and compares favourably. However, I am concerned about the rate.

I also agree with the Deputy's concerns about AI. However, as with earlier forms of technological progress, while AI will displace jobs, it will also create jobs and in doing so increase productivity, the gains from which will be reflected in general economic performance. It is too early to say with any confidence what the balance of these effects will be, though historical experience indicates that the gains may be more significant than the losses.

That said, the expert group on future skills needs published a recent report which highlighted our leading global position in relation to AI. It highlighted a strong demand for workers with AI skills and indicated that the adoption of AI presents considerable potential for Ireland's employment and labour market. The Department of Finance has also published research on this subject. It has identified the at-risk sectors as being the ICT, financial, professional, scientific and technical sectors. It noted, which supports the Deputy's contention, that the impact of AI was likely to be more concentrated in entry-level jobs. We are monitoring these developments closely. I will get a chance to speak about the Pathways to Work process in my next response.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

That will be welcome. A number of factors need to be considered. I welcome the fact that the Minister is concerned because I am, too. I feel that when we are both concerned about something, we might be able to do something about it, which would be good.

I welcome publication of the report into AI. However, there is an issue. Youth unemployment is rising at a faster rate than that of the general population. Therefrom comes both of our concerns. What is needed is a bespoke programme for younger people. We are heading into a period where we may experience some unemployment. I feel that now is the time to get ready for that, with the specific needs of younger people in mind, and acknowledge, as the National Youth Council of Ireland has pointed out, the bottleneck that exists whereby people are unable to move on to more fulfilling or different jobs.

The other issue is that of underemployment. A lot of younger people who are working have the capacity to work more but cannot get that work.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I thank the Deputy. I confirm that we are monitoring all AI developments very closely. We are doing so in the context of developing the successor strategy to Pathways to Work. That strategy will include priorities for younger people. We expect it will be published in quarter 2 of this year.

We have made some changes. I particularly draw the attention of the Deputy to the changes in Tús. The Tús work placement scheme is being extended to 18-year-olds who are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or who are the beneficiaries of temporary protection, and those people who are assessed as having a low probability of being able to access work in the open labour market after they meet an employment personal adviser. Some 150 people have availed of this option and it is already being found to be particularly effective following a review undertaken jointly by us, the OECD and the European Commission. We will explore the potential for it to expand, with a specific focus on those who may have difficulties in securing employment.

Our teams in Intreo are engaging closely and intensely with younger jobseekers to try to get them onto courses and into supports at the youngest possible age to avoid the chances of them being detached from the labour market.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I thank the Minister. He mentioned that Intreo staff are engaging intensely. He might provide me with a note on the type of engagement and where it is that Intreo is directing people. We know that 50,000 young workers are either working part time or on low-hours contracts. In some instances, much and all as they should not be, they are on zero-hours contracts.

I met representatives of the National Youth Council of Ireland. They are saying clearly that there is not just youth unemployment, which is an issue and which I feel is a bit of a canary in a coalmine, as I have said previously, but there is also the issue of underemployment. If we look at the statistics, we will see that 18% of 25-year-olds had to go back to their parents' houses after attempting to live on their own and 43% have never left. Clearly, there is an issue. We have all been 25, albeit that it was a long time ago, and you do not necessarily want to be living with your parents at that age. I do not think that figure represents people who are happy to be at home. Those are people who are stuck at home. That needs to be examined.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I will certainly provide that information to the Deputy. The range of supports that Intreo advisers use includes Springboard+ and identifying Springboard+ opportunities. It provides free and sometimes heavily subsidised education for in-demand skill areas. We can match courses to people's skills and abilities.

SOLAS continues to provide focused training programmes. There is also the work placement experience programme. With the back-to-work enterprise scheme allowance, I am encouraging people to set up their own businesses. That is something I am very passionate about. I will be asking the Department to focus on supporting people through the journey of setting up their own businesses, giving people options and, most importantly, providing the supports to go through that. We also have the short-term enterprise allowance.

There is a range of schemes there. I will engage with the National Youth Council of Ireland about how we package those schemes in a way that can be understood, and understand how they are relevant to the current demands of the labour market and the pressures that are on people. I will come back to the Deputy about underemployment.

Disability Issues

Questions (2)

Eoin Hayes

Question:

2. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on his engagement with disabled persons' organisations; the consultation he is undertaking on the cost-of-disability support payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15656/26]

Oral answers (8 contributions)

Deputy Eoin Hayes

Last week, the Minister announced that a public consultation is to take place on the cost of disability. Will he confirm that this is with a view to introducing a permanent cost-of-disability support payment in budget 2027? As part of that consultation discussion with disabled persons' organisations, will the Minister withdraw his comments on their lived experiences in saying that their accounts of their experiences were misleading and dangerous?

Deputy Dara Calleary

I thank the Deputy. The Government recognises the additional costs that are associated with having a disability. We are committed to improving outcomes for disabled people. The programme for Government includes a range of commitments to support disabled people, which includes a commitment to introduce an annual cost-of-disability support payment. In addition, under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and their advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability. While that is led by my Department, it will include other Government Departments. This is a cross-government endeavour and I will be hosting the summit on 13 May 2026.

Departmental officials meet regularly with representatives of disability organisations bilaterally as part of regular meetings with the community and voluntary pillar and in a dedicated disability consultative forum. Disability groups are also represented at the annual pre-budget forum, the post-budget briefing and the annual social inclusion forum.

Since October 2025, my officials have met several groups, including disabled persons and disabled persons' organisations, to discuss the cost of disability. In December, the cost-of-disability strategic focus network was the main agenda item of my Department's disability consultative forum. Officials from across the Government were in attendance at this meeting. I met representatives of the disability consultative forum yesterday, which gave me an opportunity to engage directly with them on many of these issues.

Last Friday, 20 February, I launched the public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment and a strategic focus network summit can best be delivered. It will run for over six weeks and will close on 7 April. We are inviting members of the public to participate in the consultation by submitting written, video or telephone contributions. That consultation is open to everybody, with particular encouragement for disabled people and their families and carers, disabled persons' organisations and representative groups. I encourage any interested party to visit gov.ie/cod. To date, we have had over 80 submissions and we have tried to design the consultation to ensure the biggest accessible format available. We are open to input.

Deputy Eoin Hayes

I thank the Minister. I genuinely welcome his engagement with the disabilities organisations. The question I have is how that engagement has been going. We put forward the emergency winter payment motion, which has been supported by those disabilities organisations. Has that come up at those meetings? Has it come up in the consultations so far?

It is important to note the rebuttal given by the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. They pointed to the supplementary welfare schemes as something that people could avail of if they were in dire straits and choosing between heat and food. Notably, only 3,000 people availed of that payment last year. The emergency winter payment, as proposed, would affect 300,000 people. What is the Government doing for the other 297,000 people this year? They are suffering under the cost of disability.

I ask for a second time if the Minister will withdraw the hurtful and disgraceful remarks he made about the lived experience of people with disabilities in the recent past.

Deputy Dara Calleary

First, those remarks were not aimed at people with disabilities. They were aimed at political parties that are trying to weaponise the issue.

Deputy Eoin Hayes

What we are saying is the truth.

Deputy Dara Calleary

Supports are available but we want to do a lot more on this. That is why we are putting a huge amount of work into a permanent payment. The cost-of-disability summit in May will produce a briefing paper. I intend to bring that to the Government as part of the budget 2027 negotiations. We are only at the end of February and the budget negotiations are not yet under way. This issue will be my priority going into those discussions. I invite Deputy Hayes and all the political parties to take part in the submission process, as Deputy O'Reilly has indicated she will do, and to put forward their views on what a permanent cost-of-disability payment might look like and how it should be structured.

We had a very good engagement with the groups yesterday. They continue to pursue an emergency winter payment but my focus is on fulfilling the programme for Government commitment to introduce a permanent payment rather than a temporary, one-off, year-to-year payment.

Deputy Eoin Hayes

The House should be aware that a protest will take place this Saturday against the failure to deliver the emergency winter payment. The disability organisations, despite meeting with the Minister and his officials several times, have called for that protest, which I will attend.

There is a conversation happening about a permanent cost-of-disability payment and I really welcome that as a direction of travel. However, there was no repeat in budget 2026 of the €400 payment in budget 2025. The Minister is saying that from budget 2027 on, there will be a payment. The lived experience of disabled people is that they had a one-off non-payment in budget 2026. I ask the Minister for the third time: will he withdraw his hurtful and disgraceful remarks about the lived experiences of people with disabilities? They were derisory and it was deeply upsetting for many people with disabilities to hear that is what the Minister for Social Protection thinks of their lived experience.

Deputy Dara Calleary

As I said, we are focused on a permanent payment, not a temporary payment from budget to budget. We are focused on getting the design right and on involving as many voices as possible to ensure we consider as many ideas as possible in order to get it right. We had very good and constructive discussions about this with the disabled persons' organisations yesterday. We want to ensure the summit in May is a practical, focused and business-like event. Certainly for me, it will not be a tick-the-box event. We genuinely want to hear from people and get their input into the design of the payment. We will use all the feedback from that process during the budget 2027 discussions. At that point, it will be my priority. We are well away from any budget preparations or commitments but, as I continue to assure the Deputy, it is my priority and we will go into the process looking to deliver it. The proposal we deliver will be one that is owned and shared by those with disabilities and their families, carers, representative organisations and advocates.

Social Welfare Rates

Questions (3)

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

3. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to equalise the youth jobseeker’s rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15403/26]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

This question relates to the youth rates of jobseeker's payments and whether the Minister has any plans to equalise them. Coming from a trade union background, we always said there should be equal pay for work of equal value. However, for those dependent on a social welfare payment, it would be wrong to assume it is pin money or is somehow not relevant to the young person and his or her family.

Deputy Dara Calleary

Age-related rates apply to persons aged between 18 and 24 in receipt of a jobseeker's payment. However, young jobseekers can receive the full adult payment if they participate in training and employment programmes. This is the correct approach, which will help to minimise the scarring effects that extended periods of activity can sometimes have on the long-term prospects and well-being of young people. Age-related rates are not applied to all young adults. Exemptions apply to those with dependent children, those previously in the care of Tusla or living independently and those in receipt of State housing supports such as the housing assistance payment, HAP.

At the end of January 2026, 11,850 people were on reduced rates of €163.70. My priority, rather than adjusting payment rates, is to give young people the best possible chance to participate in the labour market, as we have just discussed. Supporting young people to take up employment, education and training opportunities can enhance their employment prospects over time, as well as their ability to earn an adequate income to support themselves and their families into the future. If young jobseekers participate in education or training, they receive up to the maximum personal rate of jobseeker's allowance of €254. If they participate in a work placement experience programme, that weekly rate can increase to €369.

As I said previously, we are currently finalising our work on the successor to the previous Pathways to Work strategy. As part of that strategy, I am determined to ensure that young people continue to be prioritised through education, training and employment supports. Accordingly, and in line with the reinforced youth guarantee, my Department continues to work to ensure young jobseekers receive a good-quality offer of employment, education or training within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. The current approach strikes the right balance in supporting young people into employment. I have no plans to change the rates for young jobseekers at this time.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

My constituency has the youngest population in the State. Youth unemployment is rising at three times the rate for the general population, as we have discussed, and constituencies like mine will feel that the hardest. A total of 18% of 25-year-olds went back to their parents' house after attempting to live on their own and 43% have never left. This means 60%-plus of young adults remain in their family home. The Minister referenced the need for bespoke strategies. I hope to hear more from him about that in the coming weeks and months. As we have discussed, the labour market is changing. It is not simply the case that young workers need to be incentivised; they need to be trained and equipped to be able to participate in the workplace. The Minister mentioned extended periods of inactivity. There was a bit of a bang of Norman Tebbit off that comment. I do not think anybody enjoys a period of extended inactivity. Young people want to be in work but there must be recognition that some of them will need help with that.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I assure the Deputy I do not want to give off any suggestion of the person she mentioned. We want young people to remain connected to the labour market, to avail of the employment and training opportunities and, more importantly, to avail of opportunities that are suited to their skills and interests as opposed to going through generic schemes. We went through the options earlier, including Springboard and the new changes to the Tús scheme. We want to ensure young jobseekers can receive a higher payment if they participate in training and employment programmes. I know that 99% of them want to do so but there can be challenges in terms of transport and accessing appropriate courses. We are trying to address those challenges as well. As outlined, a young jobseeker participating in education or training can receive up to the maximum personal rate. For participants in the workplace experience scheme, the weekly rate increases to up to €369. We certainly will be focusing on Pathways to Work, which I will have a chance to talk about in my reply to a later question.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

The purpose of jobseeker's payments and other social welfare benefits should be to help people to get back on their feet and back into the labour market. However, having subminimum reduced rates for younger people cuts them off and leaves them further adrift. The two-tier element is not a good thing. I appreciate that the full rates are available for those participating in training and employment opportunities but the Minister needs to take a long, hard look at the reasons for non-participation. Very often, it is not from an unwillingness, as he acknowledged. Young people do not want to be disconnected from the labour market. What is happening is that they find themselves cut off because of a lack of transport and, as a consequence of the low rates, because they cannot get themselves out of where they are. I am very conscious that there is a poverty trap for younger people. It is not good to have a two-tier system with different rates. I come from the perspective of believing our young people want to be in work and to be productive. They just sometimes need a hand to get there.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I agree. We want to avoid people, particularly at a young age, falling into that poverty trap. We want to keep them connected to the labour market, which we all agree is changing rapidly. That is why extra payments are given to those in training and on work experience. As I said, we are working on a new Pathways to Work strategy.

We have had over 430 submissions. We had five stakeholder forum events across the country. We have also met our colleagues in government and in other agencies of Government. We are developing the draft document. I am certainly very much keeping an eye on the changing pattern of labour and the challenges of labour. As a former Minister of State at the Department of enterprise with a particular interest in the digital space, I am very much looking at where those trends are going.

Going back to the reports from the Department of Finance and the future skills group I mentioned earlier, I want to ensure we have appropriate training and appropriate opportunities in place for people regardless of where they live in the country.

Question No. 4 taken with Written Answers.

Energy Prices

Questions (5)

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

5. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his engagement with the CRU, or energy providers, in relation to pay-as-you-go, or hardship metres; to detail the full extent of this engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15404/26]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

My question relates to the engagement the Minister has had with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, or the energy providers, or hopefully both, in relation to pay-as-you-go meters, or as they are sometimes called, hardship meters. We had a discussion yesterday at committee in relation to a particular incident. I will not ask the Minister to comment on that but there is an issue of what I would call microdisconnections. If people on a prepay meter are on the vulnerable register, it is meaningless because they will get cut off.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I thank the Deputy. She was going to send me some details in relation to the case yesterday because I want to make sure that situation does not arise again.

The lead role in relation to the engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities or energy providers in relation to pay-as-you-go meters is a matter for the Department of climate. While we have no function in this space, it is an area that we support people in. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has advised that the electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a EU regulatory regime whereby electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised and competitive. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities is an independent statutory regulator and is accountable for the performance of its function to the Oireachtas. That being said, our primary role as a Department is to provide financial support to those households that require help with energy costs.

As regards to income supports, my Department provides a range of schemes to assist with costs. We have increased the fuel allowance this year. We have increased the qualification for the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment, which will kick in from this week on. Other forms of assistance include the household benefits package, the heating supplement and additional needs payments.

I will engage with the Deputy in relation to the experience we discussed at committee yesterday. Arising from that engagement, I intend to update the guidance we issue to our offices around these pay-as-you-go meters, in particular. I also deal with them in my own constituency office. I recognise the challenges people using them face. I do not want a situation where people are without power unnecessarily. Supports should be given and made available to them. I look forward to working with the Deputy on this issue.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

It is very expensive to be poor in this State, if a person finds themselves on a pay-as-you-go meter. I do not give a continental what the energy companies say. Many people are on those meters and they do not want to be. They either believe they have no choice or they are put onto them. They are then charged the most expensive rate of electricity. Thanks to my colleague, Lynn Boylan MEP, we learned in the newspapers yesterday that domestic customers pay twice as much for their electricity as data centres do. It is easy to see where the Government's priorities are there. The people who are on pay-as-you-go meters, who are likely to be the poorest people in any community, are paying a higher rate. They are - forgive me Cathaoirleach Gníomhach - getting screwed and it is really unfair. These microdisconnections are happening every day of the week. There has to be a rapid access system for people so that they can keep the lights and the heat on.

Deputy Dara Calleary

In relation to getting access to supports, I certainly want to work with the Deputy on that, particularly for the pay-as-you-go meters. I would be concerned about the rates that are charged on those meters. I will engage again with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this. We increased the fuel allowance by €5 from the 1 January this year. That is a weekly payment of €38 for 28 weeks, which supports over 460,000 households with their energy costs and that will be an investment of €486 million. The household benefits package in 2026 million will be further €230 million. The heating supplement is there to assist people with exceptional heating costs. We had a good discussion at the disability forum yesterday about improving information and getting more information out about the heating supplement and I will be acting on that. As we discussed at the social protection committee yesterday, we have additional needs payments but we need to work on the consistency around those payments and I will work with the Deputy on that.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I welcome that. It is good work to be done but the question was specifically about the engagement the Minister might have had with the CRU or the energy providers. I appreciate that he is going talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I wish him the best with that with. However, it would also be important that the Minister would engage with the CRU. I do not think people are engaging with this issue. I see it, and I am sure the Minister sees it in his constituency clinic as well. I am not talking about a massive number of people but for them it is important. The case I spoke to the Minister about involves a young woman with two kids. Her electricity was going off at 2 o'clock. She could not access those supports, so she would have been in her house, cold. These are facts but they are microdisconnections; they are very small. I encourage the Minister to engage with the CRU. There is no rule that says he cannot. The CRU is the body with responsibility for regulation in this space. The energy companies are - with the greatest respect - the ones who have the responsibility for gouging these people. At the end of the day, it is the Department of Social Protection that will pick up the bill. At this stage, if the Minister could intervene with both of those bodies, that would be a very useful way to engage.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I agree. I am happy to have an engagement with the CRU but, obviously, it is not statutorily responsible. We could have an engagement in the context that I do not have any role but I do think this is an important issue. There needs to be some sort of understanding of the pressure families and homeowners are under with these pay-as-you-go meters. There can be situations of what the Deputy calls microdisconnections where people are left without power and heat, with minimum notice. I will engage with the CRU around this and will emphasise the need for further engagement in this space. I will also engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, who is generally very constructive on these issues.

I want to point out that we have made investments in this area. A total of €486 million has been allocated for fuel allowance, with €230.5 million for the household benefits and the extension of the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment from this month on. This the first time the fuel allowance has gone to people on low incomes, which I particularly welcome.

Social Welfare Payments

Questions (6)

Peter Roche

Question:

6. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has considered introducing additional protections or supports for people living with rare diseases, given the unique financial and social challenges they face; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15529/26]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Peter Roche

Rare diseases collectively affect of thousands of people across our State. What makes the situation different is that the State's systems were never designed around lifelong, complex conditions that do not fit neat diagnostic or disability categories. Parents are becoming full-time carers, care co-ordinators and medical advocates, often overnight and, indeed, permanently, while simultaneously experiencing a collapse in their household incomes and a rise in unavoidable costs. They must repeatedly prove eligibility for assistance that measures disability in static terms.

Deputy Dara Calleary

I thank Deputy Roche for his question. My Department provides a range of income supports for those who are unable to work due to illness or disability, including those with rare diseases. These include non-contributory payments that are based on a needs test, such as disability allowance, but also contributory payments that are based on PRSI contributions, such as invalidity pension. Eligibility for these supports is not dependent on the type of a rare disease a person has but on the extent to which the particular condition impairs or restricts a person's capacity to work. The purpose of these payments is to provide income support for those with a condition that limits their ability to earn an income.

Rare diseases present unique challenges, and these differ from person to person. They can mean that a person is unable to work or only able to work part-time. My Department's income supports are designed to support a person to work where they can. For instance, disability allowance has an income disregard. This means a person can earn up to €527.60 and still keep a portion of their payment and the associated secondary benefits.

In addition, those who are on illness benefit for longer than six months or who are on invalidity pension can transfer to partial capacity benefit where they can work, earn unlimited income and still keep a percentage of their payment.

Under the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability.

My Department is leading on this initiative but we also include other Government Departments in what is cross-government endeavour. It goes without saying that those who represent disabled people, disabled people themselves and their families, carers and advocates are also involved, and will play a full part in the consultation and in the summit on 13 May. I have launched a public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment and the strategic focus network can be best delivered, and I look forward to engaging with the Deputy and with the rare diseases group in the Oireachtas, through Deputy O'Sullivan, around supports that can be done there.

Deputy Peter Roche

Many people living with rare diseases fall between multiple systems - health, disability and social protection. Approximately one in 17 people will live with a rare disease during their lifetime and, in many cases, these conditions are lifelong, disabling and involve frequent hospitalisations with one parent or carer leaving their employment entirely, yet many of these individuals struggle to qualify for disability supports, domiciliary care allowance or long-term illness-related benefits because assessment criteria were designed around the more typical disabilities and predictable conditions.

Has the Minister examined whether the existing social protection systems are appropriate for people with rare diseases, and will he consider additional tailored supports, including assessment flexibility or a dedicated pathway to reflect the unique financial or caring burdens faced by their families?

Deputy Dara Calleary

I am happy to engage with the Deputy and the rare diseases group around those issues and the proposals the group may have in relation to the systems within the Department. As I said in my response, we provide a range of supports for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability, and that includes people with rare diseases. Eligibility is not dependent on the type of rare disease but on how that disease impacts on a person’s ability to work and earn an income. The scheme already supports persons to work where they can. That is why we have an income disregard for the disability allowance. That income disregard is €527.60. That allows the person to work part-time within the confines of their condition if it affects their ability to work.

To come back to the meeting we had yesterday, we had a small discussion about the design of forms and the application process. That is something we are going to pursue. I am happy to engage with the Deputy in relation to that.

Deputy Peter Roche

I appreciate the Minister’s honesty and his response. Most of us get representations into our constituency offices in that regard. I would have thought before arriving to this House that that would not be the norm but it is beginning to become the norm where we encounter people who have those very conditions, those rare diseases. It is imperative we find a model they can fit into and that their lives are not complicated any further. Having a rare disease can be quite complex, difficult and upsetting for families who find themselves having to manoeuvre through life with that rare disease.

Deputy Dara Calleary

Absolutely. We want to try to have a Department that helps people who have to manoeuvre through these conditions. One of my frustrations in public life is the way we silo people. That day needs to go in terms of the Department of Health doing one job, the Department of Social Protection doing another and the Department of disability doing another. That is why we are taking a whole-of-government approach to the summit on the cost of disability on 13 May. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and other colleagues to identify silos that are making people's difficult journey even more difficult. Those diagnosed with rare diseases have enough challenges to deal with without the State getting in their way and making that journey and challenge even more difficult. I am open to ideas from everybody in the House in relation to the schemes of the Department, how we design them and the application processes for them. We had a good discussion at the social protection committee yesterday around some areas and on how we can improve them. We are going to working on that as well.

• Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions