I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to this debate. While the Government has opposed this motion and tabled an amendment to it, that does not mean that we do not recognise the difficulties and additional costs that disabled people face. We are very aware of those costs. Our determination to assist people with those costs is reflected in the improvements we have made to disability support schemes in recent years and our commitments to further improvements. We are committed to introducing an annual cost-of-disability support payment. We will do this over the lifetime of this Government. Through the strategic focus network summit, we will work with disabled people, their advocates and representatives in developing a way forward. I am pleased to say that this work is progressing. As the Minister clearly stated in his opening remarks, he will bring forward proposals in the first half of this year on the cost of disability. It is a priority for budget 2027. It is important to emphasise that the Government remains committed to continuing its long-standing practice of consultation and close engagement with stakeholders and disability representative groups. It is important to stress again that nobody in Ireland needs to go without food or heating for financial reasons.
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The Department's community welfare system is available to provide financial support for these essentials. The additional needs payment and the heat supplement exist for precisely that purpose. As a TD, I am acutely aware of that. People are getting support that way. We have to be very careful not to frighten people by putting out messages about people having to choose between food or heating their homes.
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Supports are in place for the people who need them. It is up to us as public representatives to direct people to those supports when we know they are struggling. Opposition Deputies had their chance to speak. It is called respect and democracy. The Minister spoke about the Government's commitment to introducing the annual cost-of-disability support scheme. This is incredibly important but is just one piece in the jigsaw. The programme for Government and the national human rights strategy for disabled people include a whole range of commitments for disabled people. We have committed to reforming the disability allowance payment and removing anomalies in the current means test for that payment. The Department of Social Protection is conducting a review of means testing generally across the schemes, as has been requested in the House. We will be guided by the outcome of that review. We are committed to progressively increasing weekly disability payments. We have been doing this, including in the recent budget in which we increased the personal rates for qualified adults and child support payments. To ensure that ongoing medical assessments are not carried out in respect of people with lifelong conditions that are not going to change, we will examine the ability to work criteria for certain payments. The issues faced by disabled people cut across government, not just one Department. That is why the national human rights strategy for disabled people is a key focus. It adopts a whole-of-government approach, with individual Departments and State agencies responsible for planning and delivering the commitments that come under their remit under five key pillars, including employment. We all know that many disabled people face barriers in the workplace and when looking for employment. We want to address those barriers. The Department of Social Protection, through its nationwide network of Intreo centres, provides employment services for jobseekers. In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, these mainstream services are available to disabled people. More tailored supports are also offered, in particular, EmployAbility offers specialised employment services to people with disabilities. It can help people find work through the job matching services and offer ongoing in-work support to employees and employers. There is a now a designated disability employment personnel officer in 62 Intreo offices. We are promoting training initiatives to raise awareness and understanding of disabilities among Intreo staff generally. In July 2022, the Department launched the early engagement scheme. This scheme proactively invites people to talk about their employment ambitions with Intreo staff and then helps them achieve their goals through the Department's employment training support. Taking part is voluntary. In December 2023, a new employment programme under the new European Social Fund Plus funding was announced. WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme aims to support about 13,000 disabled people progress their training and employment ambitions through 57 local, regional and national organisations. The programme runs from January 2024 to December 2028 and the experience to date has been very positive. Funding is also provided for GetAHEAD and the Willing Able Mentoring programmes to help people with disabilities transition from education to work. GetAHEAD works to upskill graduates with disabilities, with information sessions and training events. Willing Able Mentoring provides mentored and paid work placements for graduates with disabilities. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, has committed to expanding and building on successful programmes, such as WorkAbility, EmployAbility and the new work and access programme, to support people with disabilities into employment. Budget 2026 provided for an expansion of the wage subsidy scheme and an increase in the payment rates. These positive measures build on the other recent improvements to the schemes, such as the reduction in the number of hours, from 21 to 15, for work. There are already arrangements in place whereby when a former disability allowance customer's employment ceases or their hours are significantly reduced within 12 months of the termination of their disability allowance, it is open to that person to contact the Department to have their payment reinstated without the need to make a new application. These requests are read within 48 hours of receipt and are fast-tracked back into payment from there. We are committed to further improving the position in this regard. We are also extending the back to work family dividend to people with children who are moving off disability allowance or the blind pension and into employment. This will ease the transition over a two-year period. We also work with employers and across government to improve employment for disabled people. Secondary benefits are of great support in assisting people with additional costs. The Government is focused on heating costs today. Budget 2026 increased the rate of fuel allowance by €5 per week. This will provide an additional €140 to people during the annual fuel season. Fear of losing secondary benefits can also be a very significant concern for people when they are considering taking up or increasing their employment. That is why it is very important for us to introduce measures whereby recipients of disability allowance or blind pension will be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for up to five years after moving into employment. There are already arrangements in place for the retention of certain secondary benefits when a person comes off a disability payment and into employment. A person can retain eligibility for the free travel scheme for five years if they move into work from disability payments such as the disability allowance, the invalidity pension, the partial capacity benefit and the disablement benefit along with incapacity supplements. In addition, a person who is receipt of certain social welfare payments, such as the disability allowance, for 12 consecutive months may retain their medical card for three years after moving into employment. In the work we are doing now on the cost of disability, it is important to remember that we are building on the supports already available and the improvements that have been made, particularly in recent years. I will make a comment on what I heard in the Chamber. People are calling for permanent solutions to this problem and that is what we are all about. One-off payments are fine, but they give no certainty for the future for people with disabilities. We need to have long-term benefits. The Minister for Social Protection and all of us in government remain committed to continuing the range of supports available to disabled people under review to ensure they are meeting our objective of improving outcomes for disabled people, their families and their communities. I thank the Deputies who brought forward this motion and all the Deputies who contributed to the debate.
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