Updated: August 2024
You can read our 2025 Budget submission by clicking the below button
For the first time in 2021, the Irish Government agreed that there are extra costs to having a disability. This means that there will need to be laws, policies and supports around this cost in the future. It will be important for Inclusion Ireland to work on this.
The UNCRPD is clear on the need to stop poverty for people with disabilities. Article 28, which is about an adequate standard of living and social protection, requires states to “ensure access by persons with disabilities…to social protection programmes and poverty reduction programmes”.
Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC)
The 2023 CSO national Survey on Income and Living Condition (SILC) poverty and deprivation data shows the scale of the problem of disability poverty. People unable to work due to a long-standing health problem (disability) have:
· Consistent poverty rates more than four times higher (16.5%) than the national average of 3.6%.
· A much higher risk of poverty rate – 27.3%, as compared to 5.8% of employed people, and 8.8% of those who are retired.
Income
The current rate for the Disability Allowance is €232. This amount, while it has increased in recent budgets, is still much lower than the poverty threshold which was €291.50 per week in 2021. The Covid pandemic has highlighted the important role Ireland’s social protection system can play in protecting people from poverty, through the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). However, the considerable gap between the €350 PUP set in 2020, before the current inflation, and the current rate of €232 for the disability allowance sends a clear signal that Irish citizens do not see disabled people as equals.
The comprehensive, government-commissioned “Cost of Having a Disability in Ireland” report was published in 2021 and it estimated that the total annual additional cost of disability for people with intellectual disabilities is €13,107. Care and assistance were one of the highest average costs (€541) that people with an intellectual disability could not afford, together with adequate housing (€505) and transport (€384). The report also highlighted other areas such as mobility (€193), communications (€185), and medicines (€107). 72% of the respondents with intellectual disabilities in the Cost of Disability Report stated that they would earn more if they did not have a disability. They reported that without their disability, they could earn from €21,523 to €25,203 (depending on the level of support they have).
The extra Cost of Disability, established by the government’s Cost of Disability report, has increased significantly in recent years due to inflation, to in the range of €10,397- €15,177.
Government Measures
The government voted for 2024 on a set of measures to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis faced by many in Ireland. This included one double weekly payment, a cost of living bonus, a 400e one-off payment and a 12e increase per week of the disability allowance.
While these measures were welcomed, especially the increase of the disability allowance that nearly matched our recommendations, they only partially and reactively addressed the economic struggle faced by many people with an intellectual disability and the systemic barriers forcing people to remain living in poverty. A once-off payment seems to be more rooted in the charity approach of disability while the permanency of a payment would send the signal that compensation for the extra cost of disability is a right and should not depend on the budget available from one year to another. The extra costs for equipment, medical bills, services and therapies remain the same or even rise year upon year.
Long-term Solutions
One-off payments will not solve the consistent poverty faced by disabled people. Inclusion Ireland together with other organisations has long been advocating for the permanent cost of disability payment. As expressed in the conclusions of the cost of disability report: “The government should change the levels of disability payments and allowances to reflect the very different costs of disability by severity and type of disability.”
We call for:
- An increase in the rate of the disability allowance to match it with the poverty threshold (€291.50).
- Ensure long-term recognition of the extra cost with a permanent cost of disability payment, rather than through one-off payments.
- A special fund is needed for equipment, technology, and essential assistive aids for people with higher support needs.
Budget 2025
During 2024, Inclusion Ireland led a survey and got 860 answers from its members about what should be Budget 2025 priorities.
Based on all responses, we put together a Budget submission “Make children with intellectual disabilities matter” with a specific focus on inclusive education this year.
You can read our 2025 Budget submission
You can also watch our video highlighting our Budget asks for 2025.
The government will announce Budget 2025 on the 1st of October.
We will keep you posted about it on a regular basis.
