Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 December 2025
535. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a detailed assessment of the fiscal implications of reintroducing a once-off winter support for persons with disabilities in 2026, including the projected cost of a €300 payment, a €400 payment and a €500 payment; and if his Department has carried out any analysis of the additional energy and living costs faced by disabled households during the winter period. [69167/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra536. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the net change in income in 2026 compared with 2025 for a single adult on disability allowance living alone, taking account of the withdrawal of once off supports in Budget 2025 including the €400 disability cost-of-living payment, the €300 fuel lump sum, the €300 living alone lump sum, the €200 electricity credits and the double week bonuses, and the permanent increases announced in Budget 2026; and his Department’s calculation of the total value of once off supports in 2025 for this household type and the value of permanent supports to be received in 2026. [69169/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra537. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a detailed assessment of the fiscal implications of reintroducing a once off winter support for persons with disabilities in 2026, including the projected cost of a €300 payment, a €400 payment and a €500 payment; and if his Department has carried out any analysis of the additional energy and living costs faced by disabled households during the winter period. [69170/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra538. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to detail his Department’s inflation adjusted estimate of the annual extra cost of disability in 2026, referencing the cost of disability study (details supplied) and any updated modelling carried out by her Department since 2020; and the way in which these figures informed the design of Budget 2026. [69172/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 535, 536, 537 and 538 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 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.
Government has been very clear that there would be no once-off measures in this year’s Budget. We are at the start of a five-year programme for Government and not everything can be done in year one.
My Department provides a range of income support payments for disabled people. There are currently almost 231,300 recipients of disability income support payments, with estimated expenditure of €3.24 billion in 2025.
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 January.
• 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.
• A €5 increase in the Fuel Allowance, bring it to €38 per week from January 2026.
• 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 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.
• €20 increase in the monthly Domiciliary Care Allowance payment bringing the payment to €380 per month from January.
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 Governments commitment to support disabled people by introducing permanent changes rather than relying on once-off measures.
Not all of the one-off measures in previous Budgets fall within my Department's remit. The one-off electricity credits are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.
The once of payment of €400 which was made to recipients of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension in November 2024 cost approximately €85.12 million.
The impact of Budget measures, whether one-off or permanent varies depending on people's circumstances. For example, whether or not they are in receipt of the Fuel Allowance and whether or not they have children.
As part of Budget 2026, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation in conjunction with the Department of Finance undertook analysis of the distributional impact of the Budget 2026 tax and welfare measures. This analysis shows the impact of the Budget 2026 tax and welfare package to be broadly progressive, reflecting its targeted nature. Households in the lowest income deciles will see the greatest increases in weekly disposable income as a result. My Department has not undertaken additional analysis of the additional energy and living costs or adjusted the Indecon figures for inflation.
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 recently published 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 next year.
My officials have held meetings with a number of organisations to discuss the possible structure and content of the Strategic Focus Network on the Cost of Disability. Most recently, on 2nd December at my Department's Disability Consultative Forum, at which the Cost of Disability Strategic Focus Network. Officials from across government were also in attendance given that this is a whole of Government issue.
The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.
Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case, including the need presented and available resources, in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance. The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently receiving a social welfare payment or working on a low income.
Furthermore, under the scheme, a Heating Supplement may be paid to assist people that have exceptional heating costs due to ill health, infirmity or a medical condition and are unable to meet those costs out of household income. Heating Supplement is not restricted to the fuel season and can be paid throughout the full year.
Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment or a Heating Supplement is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications for Additional Needs Payments can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.
I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
