Disability rights campaigners protest in Dublin for emergency payment

LAST UPDATE | 28 Feb

DISABILITY RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS staged a protest in Dublin City centre this afternoon, calling for the instatement of an emergency €400 payment for disabled people and carers.

The protest began at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance.

Organised by the Irish Wheelchair Association, the Disability Federation of Ireland, and Access for All, the national protest has received the united support of left parties in the Dáil.

© Paula Geraghty

In a joint statement, the leaders of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, People Before Profit-Solidarity, and the Green Party said the payment would be “only the first steps in reversing the government’s attacks on people’s living standards in Budget 2026″.

They said the Budget left disabled people €1,400 worse off. A number of one-off payments included in the previous Budget were not carried through to Budget 2026.

“Carers and disabled people also urgently need a permanent cost of disability payment,” the party leaders said.

“It is not acceptable, given the surplus the government has at its disposal, that disabled people, and many others too, are being forced to choose between heating and eating.”

The Disability Federation of Ireland said following the Budget announcement that although it welcomed additional investment in disability services, Government had removed one-off payments that made Budget 2025 “bearable” for people with disabilities.

It said a Cost of Disability payment should have been introduced to cover this gap.