Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
838. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department has calculated the impact of Budget 2026 on the disposable income of disabled households; if so, to provide those calculations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75010/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government recognises the additional economic burden faced by households affected by disability, particularly in the context of elevated cost of living pressures over recent years. It is for this reason that the Government has introduced targeted budget measures to support vulnerable households.
As with previous budgets, the Department of Finance conducted a distributional analysis of Budget 2026 to examine the impact of proposed tax and welfare measures on a range of households. This analysis was conducted throughout the decision-making process, and an ex-post distributional analysis of the final budget package was then published in ‘Beyond GDP – Quality of Life Assessment’ on budget day.
When comparing new tax and welfare measures in Budget 2026 with permanent Budget 2025 measures, the analysis finds that households with disabilities see higher disposable income gains (1½ per cent on average) than non-disability households (0.6 per cent on average). Furthermore, lower income households affected by disability see a larger increase in their disposable income than high income households. The lowest income households with disability see gains of 3.9 per cent, compared with gains of 0.1 per cent for the highest income cohort.
Furthermore, the department’s analysis finds the tax and welfare measures introduced in Budget 2026 reduce the At Risk of Poverty rate for households with disability by 3.8 per cent.
I am confident that the measures introduced in successive budgets by this and the previous Government have been progressive, supporting the most vulnerable households and helping to drive reductions in poverty.
