Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
711. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the income thresholds for disability allowance, with a view to ensuring that people with disabilities are not discouraged from taking up part-time or flexible employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14574/26]
View answerDisability Allowance is my Department's primary disability related social assistance scheme. It is a means-tested payment for people with a disability who are aged between 16 and 66. In order to be eligible the person's disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the person must satisfy a medical assessment and a habitual residency condition.
Disability Allowance has one of the highest capital disregards operated by the Department of Social Protection. A recipient can have up to €50,000 in savings and still receive the full rate of payment. This is compared to €20,000 for most social welfare payments.
Disability Allowance is structured to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue employment, be that self-employment or insurable employment. Over the last five budgets the Government has progressively improved payment rates and income disregards for disabled people. The earnings disregard has increased by almost 38% since Budget 2021 from €120 to €165 currently. This enables those in receipt of Disability Allowance to earn more without having a negative impact on their payment.
People can earn up to €165 per week and keep their payment in full. Furthermore, a person can earn up to €527.60 per week and keep their entitlement to the minimum rate of Disability Allowance and their secondary benefits. The weekly payment rates for Disability Allowance have increased by €51 since Budget 2021 to the current rate of €254.
Building on this, Budget 2026 included several measures to encourage participation in employment for disabled people.
• 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.
• Expansion of the Wage Subsidy Scheme to people who acquire a disability while in employment.
The number of Disability Allowance recipients who are currently engaged in employment is approximately 27,000.
The Programme for Government commits to reforming the Disability Allowance Payment and removing anomalies in the current means test for the payment. More generally a review of means testing is being undertaken by my Department. The outcome of the review will be used to inform decisions regarding any further changes to means testing. All prospective changes to means testing arrangements will have to be considered in both an overall policy and budgetary context.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
