Paul Murphy: Calls for Emergency Winter Payment for Disabled People

The programme for government promises a permanent annual cost of disability support payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment. Instead of doing that, we have just had a budget in one of the richest countries in the world with a substantial budget surplus, but yet the budget did not introduce this payment and instead made disabled people poorer to the tune of over €1,000. This question is an appeal to the government to introduce an emergency winter payment to offset the extra cost of disability. Minister. As you said, the programme for government commits to introducing a permanent annual cost disability support payment. We will introduce an incrementally increase this payment. Those commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the government having regard to the policy and budgetary context. In budget 2026, I provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures. We were clear from early in this year that there could be no one-off measures in this budget. Not everything, however, in terms of our programme for government commitments, will be done in the first budget. The budget package contained significant targeted measures to support disabled people. These measures include a €10 increase in the weekly rate of payment, bringing the personal rates of payment to €250 per week from January. A Christmas bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment, which will be paid in December 2025. A €20 increase in the domiciliary care allowance, which will bring that rate to €380 per month. A €5 increase in the fuel allowance, bringing it to €38 per week. Those moving from disability allowance or blind pension to take-up work will now be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for five years. The back-to-work family dividend is also being extended to this group, where they have children. From January, extending the wage subsidy scheme to people who acquire a disability while employment, will increase the rates paid from April. As I said, we are increasing the earnings disregard for carers allowance by record levels. Across disability allowance, in validity pension, blind pension and domiciliary care allowance, over €250 million in additional funding has been made available when comparing the revised estimates for these schemes between 2025 and 2026. In addition, the recently published National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People is taking a whole-of-government approach. It includes a commitment to establish a strategic focus network on the cost of disability, which is led by my department. My officials have already had meetings with a number of organisations to discuss the structure and content of this network. I will be meeting those organisations during December, and I have asked my officials to make sure that I have a proposal to bring to government next year in relation to cost of disability. I presume the Minister is not disputing the fact that the government's budget made disabled people poorer, despite the measures that the Minister is announcing. Disability support grant cut, €400 gone. Living alone allowance, the lump sum, €200 cut, €200 gone. Fuel allowance reduced for disabled people at a cost of a net loss of €160. The October double payment, €254 cut. The electricity credits, €250 cut. The total value of one-off supports taken away from disabled people is €1404. Even when you take into account the small increases that the Minister announced, you still leave disabled people worse off to the tune of over €1,000. That is in nominal terms, not in real terms, but in terms of inflation and the cost of living crisis. It is even worse, despite the fact that we know that the cost of having a disability in this country back in 2021 was over €10,000. That means today it is around €15,000. What we have done and what we are doing over the course of government is to turn those one-off payments into permanent supports in a way that people can plan from a year-to-year basis. This year, as I have said, through the weekly increase in the rate of payment, through the increase in domiciliary care, the increase in fuel allowance and the other changes, there will be an extra €250 million going into permanent supports that will not have to be renewed every year and that will continue in the next series of budgets. That is why I have started the work on what a permanent cost of disability payment will look like. I want it to be annual. I want it to be incremental. But I am not going to impose a model without consulting with various disability groups and I look forward to consultation with the Oireachtas Committee, not just on social protection but also on disability, as to what that might look like, who should qualify for it, how it should be paid. That is a commitment that we have under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People. It was published on the 3rd of December and I have begun the work already in relation to the Strategic Focus Network and then we will be getting the work in December to engagement as to what that payment will look like. I am very focused on introducing that payment and it will be a key priority as I come into the next budget sequence. Deputy Morphy. The cost of living crisis is now. The cost of disability crisis is now. One in four households with a disabled person experiences deprivation in Ireland today. That is going to be worse next year as a result of the budget. I will show you again that you have a country, one of the richest in the world, record national surpluses, repeated commitments to equality and inclusion from the government and yet a budget that decides to make disabled people poorer. They cannot wait until next year. Like I said, the Department of Finance report back in 2021 talks about the average annual cost of disability. Its midpoint is over €10,000 today. That is €15,000. They are appealing to you Minister and to the government to introduce an emergency winter payment to offset the cost of disability. You can continue the process of consultations and so on, but they need this payment now if you are not going to force more disabled people into poverty, into deprivation over the coming months. That is happening Deputy, as I said from next year, €4 million a week extra is going into permanent payments in various support schemes and payment schemes for those with a disability. We already in terms of the means test for disability allowance, it takes account, it is one of the highest capital disregards. A recipient can have up to €50,000 in savings to receive the full rate of payment. Your colleague yesterday during the debate on the Social Protection Bill Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned about the cliff edge in that and that is something I want to work with as separately to the annual cost of disability payment and I am also trying to work with various groups in terms of encouraging employers about employment. That is why that €250 million extra next year, €4 million a week, they are permanent payments, they will not have to be renewed every year and next year I look forward to expanding those and expanding eligibility and most importantly to working through on an agreed model and as far as we can what a cost of disability payment may or may not look like.