Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
140. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether his Department has undertaken any examination of additional tax measures for family carers and persons with disabilities, in recognition of the additional day to day costs associated with disability, including energy, transport and healthcare-related expenses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39891/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government recognises the significant financial pressures experienced by households with disabilities, particularly amid the heightened cost-of-living conditions of recent years. In response, we have implemented targeted budget measures designed to support those most vulnerable.
When this Government took office, we committed to a step change in the delivery of supports and services for people with disability and their families.
Budget 2026 was the first step in delivering on this ambition, providing some €3.83 billion to specialist disability services this year, an unprecedented increase of €618 million, or almost 20%. This funding will be vital in delivering the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People.
It also provided a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures, containing significant targeted measures to support disabled people and carers, including:
• A €10 increase in the weekly rates of payment
• Ensured people moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension to take up work will be able to retain their Fuel Allowance payment for five years
• 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.
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, which was published in ‘Beyond GDP – Quality of Life Assessment’ on Budget day.
When comparing income levels from the new tax and welfare measures in Budget 2026 with those arising from permanent measures in Budget 2025, 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.
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.
Government has also recently introduced two packages of measures, worth over €750 million in total, to help offset some of the impact of rising energy prices for households and businesses. Overall, these packages of measures will reduce fuel prices for households and businesses and support key sectors of the Irish economy. Our best estimate is that our targeted interventions are reducing the annual rate of inflation by around ½ percentage point.
As the Deputy will appreciate, decisions regarding tax measures are normally made in the context of the annual Budget and Finance Bill process. Such decisions must have regard to the sound management of the public finances and the competing priorities.
