Wheelchair user who employs PAs criticises ‘discrimination’ by insurers

Eileen Daly (46) has always used a wheelchair, has had personal assistants since 1994 and has directly employed her personal assistants since 2017.

The career-guidance counsellor would “never go back” to depending on an agency for PA hours, she says. Employing them directly gives her “huge flexibility and independence”.

She is based in Dublin, she is allocated a personalised budget annually by the HSE. “Under the old system, for every hour the PA was with me, they got €11-€13 an hour and the service provider was getting about €23 an hour. That was coming out of my package. Now I use all my budget for things like recruitment, training, payroll. I am getting the same core amount and can stretch it much further.

“I employ eight part-time PAs to assist me with all aspects of my daily life. I work full time and they also assist me at work with administration.”

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When she established herself as a limited company in 2018, to become a PA employer, she found it “easy” to get employer’s and public liability insurance though a UK company, at €600 a year. When it was due for renewal in June, however, the company was no longer operating in Ireland.

‘No appetite’

“So I started shopping around and no Irish insurer would quote. They said they had no appetite for the risk. At the moment I’m with another UK company, paying €3,628.

“I have a set budget so in practical terms it means I cannot use the portion going on insurance. The PAs have employment contracts and you have to fulfil those, so I have to cut back on training or, if people are on holidays, I’ll go without cover to offset the cost. Effectively my life has been curtailed because of the high insurance premiums.”

She finds “insulting” the insurers’ view that disabled people are “high risk” employers.

“Obviously I am compliant with health and safety. I have a health and safety statement. I have risk assessments up to date. I have never had an injury or incident. There is no evidence to suggest I am a higher risk than other employers. This is plain discrimination.

“We are not looking for anything special. All we want is to be treated equally but too many people don’t seem to understand that concept, don’t see how their thinking oppresses us. The insurance industry must be challenged on this. These are the things that stop disabled people being able to work, to participate in society and it’s just allowed to happen.”