Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes has dubbed the government’s public consultation on the cost of disability a “PR stunt”.
The Dublin Bay South TD remarked, “the government simply wants to be seen to be doing something.”
The Soc Dems social protection spokesperson said “while I hope this consultation signals a genuine move by the government to introduce a permanent cost of disability payment in the next budget, it will do nothing to help those who are struggling right now with high energy bills and rising food prices.”
He noted that the Programme for Government, which was agreed upon last January, called for the introduction of a permanent annual cost of disability support payment, which would be increased incrementally.
The payment was absent from last October’s Budget, which Hayes estimates is leaving people with disaiblities worse off by €1,400 a year.
He said the government’s move was a “cruel betrayal of people with disabilities, who are among the most socially excluded and disadvantaged citizens in the state, with some of the highest poverty, deprivation and unemployment rates.”
“One in five disabled people live in consistent poverty – nearly four times the national average – while almost 40 per cent live in enforced deprivation.”
“After consulting with the Disability Federation of Ireland, the Irish Wheelchair Association and other organisations, the Social Democrats brought forward a Dáil motion in January seeking an emergency winter payment of €400. This would have served as a stop-gap measure until such a time that a permanent cost of disability is put in place,” he explained.
“Not only did the government not support our motion, but Social Protection Minister Darragh Calleary accused us – and, by extension, disability organisations – of putting out the ‘misleading or dangerous message’ that people are having to choose between eating or heating their homes.”
“It’s difficult to see how the minister’s public consultation will tell us anything we don’t already know. The need for a cost of disability payment was identified as far back as 2004, something that was reaffirmed in the Indecon research report in 2021. This estimated the extra cost of living with a disability to be between €8,700 to €12,300, which could be as high as €14,830 today when adjusted for inflation.
“This consultation must result in meaningful, permanent supports for disabled people and not just be a PR stunt where the government simply wants to be seen to be doing something,” Hayes said.