Gino Kenny: Calls for higher disability payments and housing reforms
Gino Kenny urged the Minister to increase disability payments and improve housing supports for people with disabilities. He argued the current €208 supplement should be raised to €350, housing adaptation grants are inadequate, and the UNCRPD protocol and action plan must be progressed.
Disability income concerns
Kenny said the current disability payment top-up of €208 is far too low and contrasted it with the €350 pandemic payment, arguing disability supports should be aligned to that level. He called for a review of income for those on disability or illness benefit and for the issue to be considered in the budget given the cost of living crisis.
Housing access and local examples
He said housing is a key barrier for people with disabilities, describing serious housing need in South Dublin County Council and suggesting similar problems across the state. Kenny warned many people with disabilities cannot access proper housing and recounted numerous ‘‘horror stories’’ of unmet need.
Housing adaptation grants and delays
Kenny criticised local authority housing adaptation grants as too small, with thresholds that leave families in debt or unable to afford necessary adaptations. He highlighted long delays and the inadequate size of grants for both tenant and owner-occupiers and urged the Minister to review grant levels and delivery times.
Discrimination, isolation and UNCRPD action
Kenny noted people with disabilities are twice as likely to face discrimination and experience poverty, deprivation, isolation, barriers to employment and access to services. He pressed for ratification of the UNCRPD protocol, called for the action plan to be published without delay and asked the Minister to address these systemic problems.
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The Social Democrats in relation to this motion, it's a very, very worthwhile debate in relation to what's going on with disability service in the country and Minister, as you know, people that have a disability will twice as likely to face discrimination than me and you and that's fact and they will face discrimination in relation to consistent poverty, deprivation, isolation, employment, access to public services and housing and I think housing is one of the key issues in relation to those that have a disability trying to access housing. I know in South Dublin County Council there's a kind of a dirt in relation to housing need for those that have a disability and I could tell you many horror stories in relation to those that have a disability cannot get access to proper housing and this is not just a I don't think it's just a kind of isolated situation in South Dublin County Council, I'm sure this is across the state. Just in relation to income, in relation to disability, I mean at the moment it's 208 euros, I always found it really kind of weird that during the pandemic the vast majority of people got 350 euros and that was the bar that most people you could live but you know I think disability should be far far more than 208 euros, it should be up to the level 350 euros. and you know I think that should be looked at in relation to the budget and obviously the cost of living crisis is having a huge, huge effect on those that are living with a disability and you know that has to be adhered to. I want to just touch on in relation to housing adaptation grants in the local authorities. I think the incomes are far far too low and obviously adaptations go far far beyond the grant that's available at the moment. and because again there's obviously a knock on effect in relation to the cost of living. I know families that just cannot afford the adaptation that they need for their children or themselves and the thresholds whether you're in a public, local authority house or you own your own house, the grants are far far too small and they have to be looked at because families are going into debt. families simply can't afford the adaptation or have to cut back on certain kind of modifications and you know sometimes it's taken a long long time to get these grants. So I really like you to look into that because that's a really really important thing for families and adults and so forth. So I think Minister, I think there's there's many other things that I could mention. I think again in ratifying the protocol for the UNCRPD, I just don't understand why we haven't done it. You know, there's only two other countries in the European Union that haven't done it. I think the action plan needs to be kind of published without delay. I think that's very, very important. And as I said, I think income for those that are on disability or illness benefit has to be reviewed. That's probably your remit. But you understand where I'm coming from. You know, somebody that has a, you know, is on that payment for a considerable amount of time. It's not a huge amount of money in relation to the cost of living in Ireland. It's very small actually. And some people want to contribute sometimes, you know, because of circumstances, you know, they can't because of their disability. But that disability should be looked at and it should be kind of much north than 208 euros to be looked at what happened in the pandemic. Thank you.
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