Budget 2026: Inclusion Ireland Welcomes €634 Million Disability Fund, Demands Rights-Based Spending

 

 October 7th 2025   

  

Following the announcement of Budget 2026, Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, today welcomed the Government’s commitment of an additional €634 million to disability services but cautioned that the true measure of this investment will be its impact on the rights of people with intellectual disabilities and the delivery of long-term, person-led, rights focused change.  

  

Inclusion Ireland CEO, Derval McDonagh, acknowledged the significant figure but called for clarity on how this substantial funding will be allocated.  

  

“The allocation of an additional €634 million for disability services is a welcome, major investment that acknowledges the scale of rights that have not been upheld across the country. It is a necessary, first step response to the persistent gaps our members have told us about and that we highlighted in our ‘1,000 Voices, One Message: Invest in Our Rights’ Pre-Budget Submission.  

  

Our community needs to know: will this significant investment be used for new, rights-based developments, or will the majority be swallowed up in simply ‘keeping the lights on’ for a service model that is often outdated and non-compliant with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)?  

  

The people we represent are not looking for short-term fixes or charity; they are demanding the fulfilment of their human rights. This investment must be transformative.”  

 

 While welcoming the overall direction of a rights-focused strategy, Inclusion Ireland noted key points of concern and disappointment across several departments:  

 

Disability Services (Department of Children, Disability, Equality and Integration 

• We welcome the specific allocation for 150 extra therapists for the Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs), a necessary injection of resources given the current crisis in therapy waiting lists.  

• We require urgent clarification on the funding allocated for Personal Assistant (PA) services (as distinct from Home Support hours), which are foundational to independent living and must be significantly increased to meet demand.  

• We so far have seen no mention of personalised budgets in the announcements although more detail will follow in due course.  

• We welcome the focus on deinstitutionalisation. 

 

Cost of Disability and Poverty (Social Protection)  

• We recognise the increase in core social welfare payments, but this increase falls far short of what is required to lift people with disabilities out of poverty and meet the spiralling cost of living. 

• The absence of a commitment to introduce a dedicated Cost of Disability Payment is deeply disappointing and leaves thousands of people with disabilities and their families struggling with unavoidable extra costs.  

• We welcome changes to the wage subsidy scheme. 

 

Inclusive Education (Department of Education)  

• The announcement of additional resources, including Special Education Teachers (SETs) and SNAs, is a welcome boost to schools. However, there was no mention of tackling restrictive class sizes. 

• There was a missed opportunity to clearly articulate a commitment to the progressive realisation of a truly inclusive model of education across the entire system, as required under the UNCRPD. 

 

Inclusion Ireland will continue to analyse the full budgetary documentation, including the Finance Bill, to gain a clear understanding of what is being provided.   

  

ENDS 

  

For more information please contact: 

  

Caoimhe Suipéil, Head of Communications, Inclusion Ireland  

Email: caoimhe@inclusionireland.ie  

Phone: 086-2265813 

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