Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 November 2025
95. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is concerned at the impact the abolition of so-called once off payments in Budget 2026 will have on disabled people who are unable to work; the measures he will take to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59243/25]
View answer143. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is concerned at the impact that the abolition of the disability support grant in Budget 2026 will have on disabled people; the measures he will take to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59242/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 143 together.
The Government recognises the significant additional costs that disabled people can face in their daily lives and is committed improving outcomes for disabled people by introducing permanent measures.
That is why the Programme for Government commits to introducing a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment. It is also why the last five budgets have progressively increased the weekly payment rates for Disability Allowance by €51 and the earnings disregard increase by almost 38% from €120 to €165 currently.The Government, been very clear that there would be no once-off measures in this Budget. This is the first of this Government’s five Budgets. We are at the start of a five-year programme for Government and not everything can be done in year one.
Nevertheless, Budget 2026 contains significant permanent measures to support people on disability income support payments while also making it easier for people with disabilities to progress into and importantly to stay in employment. These measures include:
• €10 increase in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments from January 2026. There will be proportionate increases for people getting reduced rate.
• Increase the weekly rates of the Child Support Payment by €8 per week, to €58, for children under 12 and by €16 per week to €78 for children aged 12 and over.
• Christmas bonus – double week payment in December.
• €5 increase in Fuel Allowance from €33 to €38 per week from January 2026. This will provide an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season.
• People moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension to take up work from September 2026 will keep their Fuel Allowance for up to 5 years.
• People getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension who have children will be eligible for Back to Work Family Dividend when taking up employment and moving off those payments.
• Reducing the number of bands in the Wage Subsidy Scheme from six to three and increasing all the rates so that, from April 2026 the base rate will be €7.50 per hour, up from €6.30. Where an employer employs between 7 and 16 employees under the scheme, they will receive a new rate of €8.50. In the case of an employer who has more than 17 employees, the new higher rate will be €10 per hour for each employee.
• Expansion of the Wage Subsidy Scheme to people who acquire a disability while in employment and to those who transfer from Invalidity Pension to Partial Capacity Benefit.
• The Government allocated €3.8 billion to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality for disability services in 2026, including funding for Community Based Specialist Disability Services to ensure people with disabilities receive the right support, at the right time, in the right place. This represents a 20% increase year on year and represents an overall increase since 2020 of €1.8 billion.
The Department of Social Protection package also contained measures aimed at supporting Carers, and recipients of Domiciliary Care Allowance.
• Increase the Earnings Disregard for Carer’s Allowance by €375 to €1,000 for a single person and by €750 to €2,000 for a couple from July 2026.
• The income limit for Carer’s Benefit will increase by €375 to €1,000 per week from July 2026.
• €20 increase in the monthly Domiciliary Care Allowance payment bringing the payment to €380 per month from January.
My Department provides the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, for those whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Under the scheme, the Department may make an ‘additional needs payment’ to meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently on a social welfare payment or in employment. The payment amount will depend on a person’s weekly household income, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed. Payments are made at the discretion of the Community Welfare Officers administering the scheme, considering all the circumstances of the case.
Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional needs payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
