Government “talking down to people with disabilities” says O’Reilly

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly has said that the government “talks down” to people with disabilities.

The Dublin Fingal West TD put forward legislation in the Dáil, which called for an emergency Budget, but the government responded with an amendment which shot down O’Reilly’s proposals.

O’Reilly’s proposals called for a €500 lump sum for people with disabilities to be introduced in the context of an emergency budget, and for a permanent cost of disability payment to be included in all future Budgets.

O’Reilly said it was “shameful” that the government introduced an amendment to her legislation, sight unseen, and remarked that the government has apathy for people with disabilities.

“I have said it before and will say it again; people with disabilities are not disabled by their own bodies or their intellectual capacity. They are disabled by a society that is ableist and a society and government that talks down to them,” she said.

“They are disabled by infrastructure that is hostile to their mobility. They are disabled by government policy failing them time and time again. They are disabled because they are not listened to and the lived reality of their lives and needs is not responded to.”

Explaining her legislation, O’Reilly said, “this motion calls for immediate intervention because the crisis is now.”

“The motion takes into account the lived reality of people with disabilities and the real need for a cost of living emergency payment. The motion is about listening to people. The Minister’s tone deaf amendment makes no reference to the fact that the budget left people with disabilities €1,400 worse off.”

O’Reilly said that Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, should “face up” to the scale of the crisis.

“He should acknowledge and face up to this and respond to the urgent pleas of disabled people who are making stark choices, whether the Minister chooses to acknowledge that. They have to use their immersion and electricity to charge their vital mobility devices. Some people need to maintain a constant temperature in the house, but cannot afford to do so.”

The Sinn Féin TD told the Dáil, “a constituent of mine in Balrothery spoke about the statement from the Taoiseach that an emergency payment is not fiscally sustainable and that people with disabilities must wait for a permanent cost of disability payment in the 2027 Budget. She said she is writing to tell the Minister that asking disabled people to wait is what is truly unsustainable.”

Minister Calleary claimed that “improving outcomes for disabled people is a major priority for the government” and that the government were committed to introducing a permanent annual cost of disability payment.

The Minister added that Taoiseach Micheál Martin has established a dedicated disability unit in his department to “drive progress” on disability issues.

He said that addressing the cost of disability is “not a question of income support alone.”

“The delivery of and access to services are also key, and that is acknowledged in research. All Departments and agencies must work together to address the issue in a comprehensive way. That is why the dedicated unit in the Taoiseach’s office is crucial,” he said.

Minister Calleary claimed that Sinn Féin’s submission “had nothing more specific to highlight” with regard to rates of payment.

“Sinn Féin said that rates of payment must sufficiently cover additional costs of disability, reflective of the rise in costs of essential consumer goods, medicines, rent, transport and energy at the time of implementation. It had nothing more specific to highlight than that.”

“There was also a chance to engage in the consultation process around eligibility. We in the government are doing that job,” he asserted.

He offered an update on the nature of the cost of disability payment, saying that it will be “fed into” the Budget 2027 process.

He said, “we are committed to introducing a cost-of-disability payment. It is my priority for Budget 2027.”

O’Reilly replied, “when you are in an emergency – these are people who face an emergency every single day – one payment makes a difference. That is what people are asking for. They have an emergency now. They do not have enough money to live now. They need an emergency payment now.”

She criticised the government for cutting €1,400 worth of supports from people with disabilities in last year’s Budget.

“The cost of living is rising, and this is impacting people with disabilities disproportionately.”

Minister Calleary said that a consultation process took place in April, with the aim of implementing the findings into the Budget process.

O’Reilly said that people with disabilities can’t afford to wait months, and that the government’s consultation process is “dragging it out.”

“People are being made to wait and they are being told that it is not sustainable to give them an in-cash payment now, but it is not sustainable to ask people to make those horrible choices between heating, eating and charging mobility devices.”

“People with disabilities are used to being fobbed off and ignored but, by Jesus, they are being gaslit,” she remarked.

She told government party TD’s “do not come in here and tell people that there is not an emergency or that they can wait; they cannot wait.”

“We do not get endless hours of speaking time in this Chamber. We use our time really carefully because we only get one chance a week. We are standing up for people with disabilities. The government is not listening. People with disabilities cannot wait. It is cruel that the government is ignoring them,” she said.

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan has also been a vocal critic of the government’s decision to cut supports for people with disabilities in last year’s Budget.

Speaking in May, O’Callaghan asked “what sort of government cuts the income of disabled people by €1,400? That is what the government did in this year’s Budget.”

“To put that in context, this country has €39 billion sitting in cash yet it decided to take €1,400 off disabled people, putting people further into poverty,” he said during a previous Dáil debate on the cost of living.

“It means that, for example, people who were in receipt of some of those supports who were getting dialysis at home can no longer afford the electricity bills for their dialysis and are having to go back to hospital to get dialysis every day, causing massive disruption and having a huge impact on their health and well-being. What sort of government does that?” the Dublin Bay North TD asked.

Since being re-elected to the Dáil in 2024, independent TD Paul Gogarty has made disability rights a core part of his Dáil contributions.

The Dublin Mid-West TD said that the government were “kicking the can down the road” on disability issues.

He said that the government were able to enact emergency payments during the Covid-19 pandemic and in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but seem to have no interest in helping people with disabilities.

He said that the cost of living hits disabled people “the hardest.”

“Long-term supports are urgently needed. What sort of society are we if we do not protect our most vulnerable?” he asked.