A public consultation on the Cost of Disability has been launched by Dara Calleary in his role as Minister for Social Protection.
The Programme for Government included a commitment to introduce a permanent, annual disability support payment, reports RTE.
The consultation is inviting submissions from the public on the most appropriate structure and approach for delivering the payment.
In 2021, research known as the Indecon report estimated that the additional yearly costs faced by disabled people ranged from about €8,700 to more than €12,300, reports RTE.
Those estimated costs have since risen in line with increases in the overall cost of living.
After the Indecon findings, a Green Paper on disability reform was published by former minister Heather Humphreys, reports RTE.
The proposals outlined a restructuring of disability payments into a three-tiered support system, but they were met with significant opposition.
Many disabled people described the suggested model as “degrading”, arguing that it relied on a medicalised assessment instead of a social model of disability, reports RTE.
The Green Paper was subsequently abandoned in April 2024.
When the current Government was formed, it identified disability as one of its key priority areas, reports RTE.
The consultation process, which begins today, will help shape the agenda for a Strategic Focus Network Summit on the cost of disability scheduled for May.
That summit will gather Disabled Persons’ organisations, ministers, senior Government officials, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to examine how best to address the additional costs associated with disability, reports RTE.
Minister Calleary has acknowledged that many disabled individuals encounter unavoidable extra daily expenses.
He described the consultation as “hugely important” in ensuring that disabled people’s voices remain at the centre of shaping the new payment, reports RTE.
The consultation will remain open until 7 April and can be accessed through the Department of Social Protection website.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
