In the area of social protection, the programme for Government commits to recognising the importance of ancillary benefits and eligibility criteria to vulnerable groups, while noting that we all have a stake in a strong social protection system. It also commits to improving and changing disability services through better implementation and collaboration. However, we currently have an anomaly in our social protection system. Disability allowance is means-tested. The payment of a mortgage by a person who is on disability payment is not taken into account. If this person lets out rooms in his or her house, that is treated as income. I have a case where a person is paying a mortgage of €1,000 a month but is only allowed to have €160 deducted from the rent that is coming in. That person, who has multiple sclerosis, therefore is only getting a disability allowance of €50 per week. This is the wrong way of dealing with it. The regulation is wrong and it needs to be amended.

I thank Deputy Colm Burke for his question. It is a timely one as we are coming into budget week. Post budget, we will have a social welfare Bill. I suggest that we could then raise these matters directly with the Minister for Social Protection to see whether any changes can be made to deal with them.