Fine Gael presidential candidate Heather Humphreys has denied that Tánaiste Simon Harris pressured her to drop disability reforms during her time in the Department of Social Protection.
“I decided that myself. I’ve worked very hard to help carers and disabled people,” she said.
“The Green Paper was only ever a consultation document. It came on foot of a cost-of-disability report, which clearly said that people who have profound disabilities incur more cost,” she told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.
“I don’t agree with what you’re saying there. That’s not what happened. I did consultations. I met people. I talked to people. I went round to many different meetings to hear their views on it. And there was genuine concerns out there on the Green Paper. So I did not proceed with it,” Ms Humphreys said.
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“And I think it was better that I listened to people and acted on what they told me. I clearly said to my officials: we’ll have to go back to the drawing board. This won’t work.
“And it was never my intention to cause upset to anybody.”
The Green Paper on Disability Reform, which had been strongly opposed by disability rights campaigners, was published in 2023.
Under the proposals in the Green Paper, which was a consultation document, a new three-tier system of disability benefits would have been introduced. Each tier would be based on an individual’s ability to work.
Disability rights campaigners, including Independent Senator Tom Clonan, argued this would have exposed people to assessments, similar to those introduced under a controversial UK government regime.
Ms Humphreys’s department had planned to keep consulting on the proposals until at least July of last year. But when Mr Harris took over as Taoiseach, the process was cut four months short and shelved in April.
Ms Humphreys also defended her role as Fine Gael’s director of elections for the referendum on the role of women in the home.
“When I look back now, I think perhaps there should have been more groundwork done. People didn’t understand what a durable relationship was,” the Fine Gael candidate said.
“I think maybe more groundwork should have been done on it. But having said that, the people are sovereign. They made the decision. I absolutely respect their decision.
“The term durable relationship was very vague. And the idea of striving support care, it wasn’t strong enough. And people were in doubt about it. They weren’t sure. And the old saying goes: if in doubt, leave it out. And that’s what the people decided to do.”
The proposed care amendment proposed replacing language in Article 41.2 around “duties” of women in the home with a new Article 42B providing that the State will “strive to” support care within families.
Ms Humphreys said the presidency was not about a referendum that was held in the past.
Ms Humphreys acknowledged she may have been “a bit rusty” in the televised debate on Monday night. “And maybe I hadn’t been on television in nearly a year. And maybe, I was a little bit rusty. But don’t worry, I’ll get back into it.”
Ms Humphreys also said her husband would live with her in Uachtaráin but would continue to look after his farm in Monaghan should she be elected.
“I will be living in Áras an Uachtaráin and Eric will be there with me as well. Now, he is a farmer, and he does need to look after his farm, and he’ll continue to do that.
“But he has always supported me throughout my life in politics, whatever I have done. And I can assure you, when I need him, he’ll be there, standing right beside me.”
