Should be people on disability be on a different level of Social Welfare

dbnavan

Disability Payments are paid at the same level as Unemployment assistance, I believe it is unfair because Dole payments etc are kept low to encourage claimers to go and find proper work however someone on disability is medically certified as being disabled,

I know from experience that disability hinders seeking gainful employment discrimintly or not, ie, i have plenty of networking knowledge however nobody is going to employ me to carry computers or to climb a ladder because I have bad balance *I wouldnt employ myself to do it!!* even though i probably have as much knowledge if not more about doing it in theory as anyone doing it. So I end up doing jobs that are more suited to me physically like tearing tickets at a cinema or working in a supermarket, sure I would have enough knowledge to be the person that tells a technician what to but you dont walk into management without proving yourself first, you cant jump on a ladder on the 4th/5th rung without start at the bottom.


I believe someone on Disability should recieve a level of payment to allow them live with dignity, and also not be penalised for there husband/wife working, why should 1 person be expected to support 2 people.

billy the squid

A person with a disability would get extra benefits.

I'm no expert on other disabilities, but I can speak about what a blind/visually impaired person can get.

Free Travel on public transport. persons on unemployment do not get this. To the best of my knowledge a blind or visually impaired person is entitled to this whether or not they are working. Restricted public transport for those not in employment, and unrestricted for those who depend on public transport to go to college or work at peak times.

Supplimentary blind persons allowance. This is approximately €50 on top of a blind persons pension and is paid out by cheque by the HSE.

Free ESB units. this is increased in the winter months. To the best of my knowledge unemployed people do not get this.

Free telephone Line rental. Again, not availible for unemployed persons.

Other things a visually impaired person can apply for.

Technical aids grant. This could cover anything from low vision aids, to computers and laptops with accessibility software installed such as JAWS or LUNAR. This is administered through the HSE and applications are dealt with by the NCBI.

There are other disabled groups who are entitled to some if not all of these extras on top of the basic weekly payment.

also they are entitled to keep their social welfare on top of certain employment schemes. as well as being able to claim social welfare ontop of ESF grants whilst in third level.

dbnavan

I agree with you on that they do get some stuff not available to unemployed persons however, u try eat, run a car, buy clothing, and maybe save for a house or pay a mortgage. on 150 euro a week, this is all normal stuff not talking luxuary.

billy the squid

dbnavan wrote:

I agree with you on that they do get some stuff not available to unemployed persons however, u try eat, run a car, buy clothing, and maybe save for a house or pay a mortgage. on 150 euro a week, this is all normal stuff not talking luxuary.

like I have said, i would only know about bilnd/visual impaired person's entitlements, whom i doubt would need a car. I would consider a car to be a luxury, unless one is living in a part of the country which is not served by public transport.

As for buying a house and saving a mortgage, there should indeed be more opportunities within the shared ownership scheme for persons with disabilities.

dbnavan

why should someone who can does not need caring for share a house or rent a room just cause they cant work for medical reason, there is alot minor disabilities stopping people from working, there is loads of places in the country not served by public transport, even a 10 minute walk to you or me might be like a 10 mile walk to someone with spinal problems who can walk short distances,

snorlax

Billy you wouldn't mind copying that into the entitlements section would you as it could be quite useful reference for entitlements for those with visual impairments?

billy the squid

will do snorlax. I will have to look up the links and the propper names for the various entitlements. leave it with me should have it done later tonight.

snorlax

Thanks, it's a really good contribution and hopefully might help out anyone with a visual impairment. if anyone else knows of any statutory entitlements please post them up under the sticky thank you very much

Victor

People on disability benefit can actually end up marginally worse as it is taxed as income and some fringe benfits (extra payment at Christmas) aren't paid.

dbnavan wrote:

I believe someone on Disability should recieve a level of payment to allow them live with dignity, and also not be penalised for there husband/wife working, why should 1 person be expected to support 2 people.

All benefits are expected to be individualised in the next few years. In any case, it costs marginally less for two people to live together than for two poeple to live separately.

dbnavan

Victor wrote:

People on disability benefit can actually end up marginally worse as it is taxed as income and some fringe benfits (extra payment at Christmas) aren't paid.All benefits are expected to be individualised in the next few years. In any case, it costs marginally less for two people to live together than for two poeple to live separately.

first point.....I am heavily involved in politics and you cant EXPECT changes years down the line when you dont even know who will be in power, why would any government say, mmmm yes we will change that law in three years...if your going to change something do it now.

2nd point.....every individual should be allowed have there own source of income, so, by what ur saying, if someone is servelly disabled, get married to someone on a high wage it should be up to there new partner to provide everything for his/her disabled partner?

Victor

dbnavan wrote:

first point.....I am heavily involved in politics and you cant EXPECT changes years down the line when you dont even know who will be in power, why would any government say, mmmm yes we will change that law in three years...if your going to change something do it now.

Its a trend. And regarding politics, civil servants wield as much power as politicians.

snorlax

a good report to read on this is the stategy for Equality Report 1996 that was written up by the commission for disabilities (made up 60% by people with disablities, or their families). they have some very good recommendations in their report. and it makes a good read for all those interested on what is actually been done or suggested. also the NDA has a number of publications around this area which are worth a read, not forgetting the disability bill or the report for independent living which includes sensory disablities too. these reports shouldbe found on Comhairle (website) on the sticky.

the report is different to others in that it adopts a more rights based aproach eg civil, social and economic rights then other reports have in the past which have been more needs orientated. even in terms of wording it is different, and reflects more positive societal attitudes as have a lot of the subsequent reports which can only be good news if it sets a thread. although it must be mentioned in terms of definitions and terminlogy that it was only quite recently fully recognised and acknowledged that the term mental handicap should not be used and that the term intellectual disablity should be used instead, 2002 to my best knowledge although it was suggested it should be changed in 1996.

we have moved on a lot in term of legislation but we certainly have a good way to go especially as regards maintsreaming of public services and access which is pretty poor in this country. up until recently only a few dart stations we're accessible to wheelchairs. however it has to be said as regards statutory funding that the goverment provides funding in terms of grants etc to a lot of the community and voluntary sector services that works with the disabled community like the IWA. this is done through the inclusion of the sector into the social partnership along with traditional partners like the farming unions/ employers and trade unions. in some cases the C&V sector gets as much as 75% of it's funding from the government. that has been a distinct decrease in the number of ad hoc funding schemes used by these agencies as they don't have to rely on it as much. why doesn't the government mainstream the services provided by the C&V sector instead of just provide partial funding? because frankly they can't afford to. it is true that the C&V sector can respond quicker to needs of the disabled then the government as that is one of their pros over statutory organisations, their flexiblity and ablility to respond to a need for new services. things like care assistant respite schemes and personal assistant schemes are examples of this.

FranknFurter

billy the squid wrote:

I would consider a car to be a luxury, unless one is living in a part of the country which is not served by public transport.

I have to say, like a majority of people with disabilities, I live in an area, (clondalkin), of Dublin in which the nearest a wheelchair-adapted bus comes is 3 miles away.
Clondalkin is very much Dublin, VERY highly populated and spans from the Naas road to liffey valley almost. There is a single bus on one side, miles and miles away from the other.

As far as "benefits" go, (never have liked that word),... the problem imho is simple,.......

Having real independence while living in reality on €150pw, is just not possible, try it.
In that regard, we live in a country where a lot is talked about "Independant living" but as far as actual Financial Social Welfare is concerned we are still VERY behind in that way of thinking.
Maybe 10 years ago, it might have been possible, now, definitely not.

As somone with several disabilities, I have to, and do, work as many hours as allowed to supplement my disability allowance. This would be wonderful and I would happilly do it, problem is, my doctors say it will ultimately make my conditions worse and therefore shorten my expected lifespan which even *without* working is less than the average.

Even working the max allowed by social welfare, (19 hours if I want to keep my D.A.), my monthly income is about 50% lower than what it might be, (as far as my academic achievments go), and would even be considered "extremely low wage" by people with my particular skills.

This countrywill eventually cop on i'm sure. Can't help but wonder if it will be while i'm still able to utilise the changes.

b

WalkswithDeath

yes you get a bus pass but try to get on a wheel chair bus . you can't cause there two buggies sitting in the wheel chair bay or the bus is over crowed . my father is disabled and his esb bill is up the wall with breathing machines and charging his wheel chair. my mum went and got a part time job cleaning just to cover the bills cause she is 20 euro over the limit they cut my fathers pension. now my mum has to get a full time job to make ends meet . but there's no one there to take care of my dad during a the day. what does she do stay at home and look after my father and get more and more into death or get a full time job and put my father in a home . the disable pension should be higher you don't ask to be disable (not saying you ask to be unemployed) its not like you can be cured with a good c.v or interview were you can be employed if you have these