Cost of Disability payment just reinstates old support government had scrapped, say advocates

THE NEW COST of Disability payment falls far short of the real expenses people have, campaigners say.

Budget 2027 promises a €500 payment in January that the government says could support as many as 238,000 people with disabilities.

It comes a year after the government discontinued the €400 Disability Support Grant.

Only those already in receipt of long-term disability payments can avail of it.

But the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) says it’ll only cover a “fraction” of the extra costs that come with having a disability.

DFI had called for a payment of €55 per week, or €2,860 annually. The group also say the money shouldn’t only be available to recipients of certain social welfare payments.

Emer Begley, DFI’s director of advocacy, said: “Disabled people who are working continue to face significant disability-related costs.

“Excluding them will create a poverty and employment trap, penalising people for working and discouraging them from entering or progressing in employment. These costs do not stop at retirement age either.”

Meanwhile, Elaine Teague, DFI’s chief executive, said less than €10 a week “is not prioritising disabled people”.

“After a year of consultation, a national summit and a report on the cost of disability, the government had the evidence it needed. It is deeply disappointing that, despite this work, disabled people are still waiting for a payment that reflects the weekly reality of the costs they face,” she said.

Related Reads

A few hundred euro, delayed childcare cuts and the missing culture card: This was a 'meh' budget

Budget 2027 includes income tax band change, carbon tax freeze, and price hike on cigarettes

State pension and Jobseekers’ payments to rise by €10 per week from next year

Teague added that a payment of €500 “cannot be the final answer to a cost that disabled people face every week, every month and every year, particularly when that payment is linked to social welfare”.

Challenged on the problems raised with the new payment, Minister for Disabilities Norma Foley said it’s about “establishing a principle” that she expects will be “built upon” in this government’s future budgets.

“It was really, really important in this budget to set down the marker, if you like, that this government supported the concept, the idea, and financed it on the cost of disability payment, and we can only build on that,” she said.

Social protection minister Dara Calleary said the government will consult disabled people to “co-design” what the payment should look like in the future.