Tairgim leasú Uimh. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises that: — the Government acknowledges that disabled people face additional costs in their daily lives; — the Government's determination to address this issue is reflected in the Programme for Government commitment, to introduce a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment; — delivering on this commitment is a core objective of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which the Government published in September 2025; — a dedicated Disability Unit has been established in the Department of An Taoiseach, to drive progress in enhancing supports for disabled people; — progress will be driven and monitored by the Cabinet Committee on Children, Disability and Education; — under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which was developed with the involvement of disability advocates and representative groups, the Department of Social Protection is mandated to lead a cross-Government Strategic Focus Network Summit on the Cost of Disability; and — work is already underway to establish and define the detailed remit of the Strategic Focus Network Summit: — the Strategic Focus Network Summit will be organised by the Department of Social Protection and, as a cross-Government endeavour, will include, other Government departments, and importantly it will involve disabled people and their advocates; — this work will inform the approach to be taken in delivering on the Programme for Government commitment; — officials have held meetings with a number of organisations to discuss the structure and content of the Strategic Focus Network Summit; — the views of disabled people and all relevant research, such as the Indecon Cost of Disability in Ireland - Research Report, and the more recent Economic and Social Research Institute report entitled "Headline Poverty Target Reduction in Ireland and the Role of Work and Social Welfare", will be given due consideration when progressing this work; and — a public consultation process on how a cost of disability can best be delivered will also be launched shortly; notes that: — there is already a broad range of income support payments for disabled people; — there are approximately 231,000 recipients of disability income support payments and 170,000 recipients of caring payments, including the Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA), with estimated expenditure of €6.5 billion across illness, disability and carer's schemes combined in 2026; and — Budget 2026 provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures, and this contained significant targeted measures to support disabled people, including: — a €20 per month increase in the monthly rate of DCA bringing it to €380 per month from January 2026, this represents an increase of over €70 or 23 per cent since 2022; — a €10, or 4.1 per cent increase in the weekly rates of payment, bringing the personal rates of payment to €254 per week from January 2026, this represents a €51 increase in weekly disability income support payments since Budget 2021; — 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, these payments have increased by €48.20 and €28.20 respectively since 2017; — a €5, or 15 per cent increase in the Fuel Allowance, bringing it to €38 per week from January 2026 providing recipients with an additional €140 during the annual Fuel Allowance season; and — an increase of €325 to €1,000 in the income disregard for single carers and €750 to €2,000 in the disregard for a couple, these increases mean a couple with an income of just under €140,000 can still qualify for a carer's payment; — both the increases to personal rates of payment and the Fuel Allowance were ahead of the general inflation rate reported by the Central Statistics Office of 3.2 per cent in the year to the end of November 2025, and an energy cost increase of approximately 3.5 per cent for the same period; and — to make the welfare to work journey as smooth as possible, and to support disabled people into work, Budget 2026 provided for: — people moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension to take up work to retain their Fuel Allowance payment for five years; — people getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension who have children being eligible for Back to Work Family Dividend when taking up employment and moving off those payments; — expansion of the Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) to people who acquire a disability while in employment, and to those who transfer from Invalidity Pension to Partial Capacity Benefit; and — increased rates under the WSS, which will take effect from April; — in Budget 2026, the Government 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 per cent increase year-on-year and represents an overall increase since 2020 of €1.8 billion; and — a dedicated unit has been established in the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, to drive reform and to lead a full review of Ireland's disability service model and this unit will work hand-in-hand with disabled people, their families, and representative organisations to shape a long-term vision for services to 2030; and further notes that: — under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, a special Heating Supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances that have special heating needs, for example, in the case of ill health, infirmity or a medical condition; — an Additional Needs Payment may also be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of their own resources; — in 2025 there were over 2,300 Additional Needs Payments made towards household bills and heating at a cost of almost €1.3 million; — there were 692 recipients of Heat Supplement at end of 2025; and — any person who considers they may have an entitlement to a payment under the SWA scheme is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service, and the National Community Welfare Contact Centre is in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.". Gabhaim buíochas leis na Daonlathaithe Sóisialta as cúrsaí míchumais a ardú sa Teach. Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí Hayes agus Quaide as an rún tábhachtach seo. I assure the Cathaoirleach that the Government recognises that disabled people, their families and representative organisations face unavoidable and ongoing additional costs in their daily lives. I assure the House that improving outcomes for disabled people is a top priority for me personally, and for the Government. It is our determination to achieve this, and this is reflected in a key programme for Government commitment that will introduce a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. Delivering on this commitment is a core objective of the national human rights strategy for disabled people. A dedicated disability unit has been established in Roinn an Taoisigh to drive progress in enhancing supports for disabled people. Progress will also be driven and monitored by the Cabinet committee. We know that addressing the cost of disability is not a question of income support alone. The delivery of, and access to, services is also key. The Private Members' motion refers to the Indecon report on the cost of disability. That report was commissioned by my Department, but it sets out how addressing the additional cost of disability requires a broader approach than simply increasing existing payments or introducing new ones. We need all of the Departments and agencies of government to work together to address this issue in a comprehensive way. Under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which was developed with the involvement of disability advocates and representative groups, the Department of Social Protection is mandated to lead a cross-government strategic focus summit on the cost of disability. That work is under way, and I will come back to that later on. There is a broad range of income support payments for disabled people, including disability allowance, partial capacity benefit and invalidity pension. There are approximately 231,000 recipients of disability income support payments and 170,000 recipients of caring payments, including domiciliary care allowance. Expenditure across illness, disability and carer’s schemes combined in 2026 is estimated at €6.5 billion, which represents an increase in expenditure of approximately 38% since 2020. We were clear as a Government that there would be no one-off payments in budget 2026. I want to introduce permanent measures that will improve outcomes for disabled people. I also take this opportunity to outline the measures Government has in place to support disabled people. Budget 2026 provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures. It builds on the already comprehensive level of support available by targeting measures aimed at supporting carers and recipients of domiciliary care allowance and making it easier for people with disability to progress into and, more important, stay in employment. Recipients of payments received a Christmas bonus of a double week’s payment in December. We provided a €20 increase in the monthly rate of domiciliary care allowance, which brought it to €380 from January. This represents an increase of over €70, or 23%, since 2022. We also increased the weekly personal rate of payment such as disability allowance by €10, or 4.1%. That brings the personal rate of payment to €254 per week from this month, which represents a €51 increase in the weekly disability income support payments since budget 2021. Recipients of disability allowance and other payments who have children have seen their weekly rates of child support payment increase by €16 to €78 for children aged 12 or over, and by €8 to €58 for children under 12, from January 2026. These are the largest ever increases in these payments, which have increased by €48.20 and €28.20, respectively, since 2017. This month, the fuel allowance payment increased by €5 to €38 per week. This represents an increase of 15%, providing recipients with an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. Both the increases to personal rates of payment and the fuel allowance are ahead of the general inflation rate reported by the Central Statistics Office of 3.2% in the year to the end of November 2025. Importantly, in relation to the cost of living, and the cases being referred to by Deputies, nobody in Ireland needs to go without food or heating for financial reasons. My Department’s community welfare service is available to provide financial support for those essentials. I do not want a misleading and dangerous message to go out that people must choose between food and heating. I will ask my officials to again engage with the organisations to point out the supports and contact points available. Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs, for example, in the case of ill health, infirmity or a medical condition. Additional need payments may also be made to help meet essential one-off costs, which an applicant is unable to meet out of their own resources. These payments are available to those who need them and qualify, regardless of whether they are in receipt of a social protection payment. In 2025, there were over 2,300 additional need payments made towards household bills and heating, at an investment of almost €1.3 million. At the end of 2025, there are 692 recipients of heat supplement. Again, I ask any person who considers they may have an entitlement to a payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to contact the Department. I will provide contact details to Deputies. There are supports, and I want to make sure that those who need them know they are there and that they can avail of them. The budget also contained a number of measures, in line with work I am doing on an ongoing basis, to make the welfare to work journey as smooth as possible and to support disabled people into work. Those moving from disability allowance or blind pension to take up work will be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for up to five years. We are making the back to work family dividend available to people who move off disability allowance or the blind pension and into employment. The wage subsidy scheme is a key disability employment support provided by my Department. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people and it supports the employer to cover the costs of significantly adapting a job’s tasks or role. Budget 2026 provides for reducing the number of bands in the wage subsidy scheme from five to three and increasing all the rates so that from April 2026, the base rate will be €7.50 per hour, up from €6.30. Where an employer employs between seven and 16 employees under the scheme, they will receive a new rate of €8.50. In addition, an employer who employs 25 or more employees on the wage subsidy scheme may receive a grant of €30,000 towards the cost of employing an employment assistance officer. These changes are important because they encourage employment. As Deputy Hayes said, we have one of the lowest records and I want to change that. They are also hugely important because we know that a fear of losing secondary benefits is a major barrier to people taking up employment. We have also provided for the extension of the wage subsidy scheme to people already at work, who acquire a disability or whose ability to work has reduced such that their job has to be significantly adapted. Last year, we modernised the language of the wage subsidy scheme in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We also increased the pool of potential employers. I will continue to focus on employment and increasing the opportunities available for disabled people within employment. I want to focus now on the work that is under way in my Department in relation to the cost of disability and the permanent payment. This is a cross-government endeavour, including other Government Departments. Most importantly, it involves ongoing consultation with disabled people and their advocates. My officials have already held a series of meetings to discuss issues in relation to the strategic focus network summit as well as cost-of-disability issues. Last October, we held bilateral meetings with the National Disability Authority, AsIAm, Family Carers Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland. The cost-of-disability strategic focus network summit was the main agenda item at my Department's disability consultative forum on 2 December last. The organisations that attended were Chime, the Disability Federation of Ireland, Inclusion Ireland, Independent People with Disabilities, the Irish Society for Autism, the Irish Wheelchair Association, the National Advocacy Service, the National Disability Authority, Rehab and Vision Ireland. Just last Friday, we met with the Disabled Persons' Organisations Network, namely, the Irish Deaf Society, the National Platform of Self-Advocates, Disabled Women Ireland, AsIAm and Independent Living Movement Ireland. We will be launching a public consultation on this payment and I look forward to submissions from across the House in relation to that. As I committed to Deputy O'Reilly, I intend to discuss it with the Joint Committee on Social Protection. I assure the House that this is my priority for budget 2027. I look forward to submissions on what that payment may look like and to engagement well ahead of budget 2027, so we have a chance to get a fully agreed proposal, if possible, on what that payment will look like. The key difference is that this is a permanent payment, not a year-on-year temporary payment. It is a permanent investment in addressing the cost of disability for those who need it.

Sentiment score: 0.27

I did not say that. I said we would provide the information on the supports that are available.

Sentiment score: 0.18

There is no such implication.

Sentiment score: -0.30