Yesterday, many of us attending a briefing in the audiovisual room, supported by, among others, the Rehab Group, the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Disability Federation of Ireland. These groups expressed their anger at the decision of the HSE to scrap the rehabilitation, training and employment allowance of €31.80 a week for students who go on to participate in training schemes. How much lower can the HSE go? This is clearly a case of the HSE trying to cover up for its ineptitude and for its finances being out of order by attacking this vulnerable sector. We all want those people to be supported and to go into further education. We have been getting harrowing stories over the summer since this broke. Can the Government please have some compassion and show empathy towards these people? It claims to support them but this is the meanest, leanest cut of all. It is unbecoming of the Government to do this to the group of people in question.

I ask the Minister to call on the HSE to suspend its plans to implement this cut. It is shameful in light of the fact that we ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities only a few years ago, which should have happened long ago. It is disgraceful and targets the most vulnerable in society. I call on the Minister to show some compassion and decency to these people who want to further their career and go through our education system.

I raised this issue in the Dáil two or three months ago and, at that time, the Taoiseach was not aware of this cut. It is having a serious effect on the most vulnerable people and I ask the Taoiseach to reconsider it. I ask him to speak to the Minister for Health and ensure that this cut is not made. It is €31.80 per week for vulnerable people. It is a job for them and something to get up for. The allowance means that they get a few euro for themselves. What is currently proposed needs to be addressed and changed.

This is a matter for the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, so I will ask him to correspond with the Deputies in a bit more detail. I checked up on it and I was advised that it would not apply to anyone who currently receives that payment but would only apply to new entrants. A difficulty arose in that some people were getting the grant and others were not, and there is an inequality in that. The decision was taken, instead, to use the money to provide better services for people with disabilities, and the money was diverted to services from cash payments.