Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 January 2026
409. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is considering any additional legislative measures to end enforced deprivation and poverty of disabled people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72864/25]
View answerThe 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 includes a range of commitments to support disabled people. Our Programme for Government commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the overall policy and budgetary context.
The Programme for Government commits to introducing a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment. In addition, under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 my Department will lead a Strategic Focus Network on the Cost of Disability.
The work of this network, which will include disabled people and their advocates, will inform the approach to be taken in delivering on the Programme for Government commitment. I have asked my officials to expedite this work with a view to bringing a proposal to Government in the first half of this year.
In advance of Budget 2026, Government were very clear that there would be no once-off measures. We are at the start of a five-year programme for Government and not everything can be done in year one.
In Budget 2026, I provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures. This contained significant targeted measures to support disabled people, including:
A €10 increase in the weekly rates of payment, bringing the personal rates of payment to €254 per week from this month;
A Christmas bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment, paid in December 2025;
The highest ever increases in the Child Support Payment – an increase of €16 to €78 for children aged 12 or over, and of €8 to €58 for children under 12 from this month;
A €5 increase in the Fuel Allowance, bring it to €38 per week from this month;
People moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension to take up work will be able to retain their Fuel Allowance payment for five 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; and
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, and increasing the rates paid from April.
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; and
€20 increase in the monthly Domiciliary Care Allowance payment bringing the payment to €380 per month from this month.
The Government also 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.
These measures clearly demonstrate the Government’s commitment to support disabled people by introducing permanent changes rather than relying on once-off measures.
I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
