Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The Government's own cost of disability report indicates that having a disability costs a person between €9,000 and €13,000 extra annually. Ireland ranks as one of the lowest in Europe in terms of the employment gap and the number of people employed in this regard. The rates of people with disabilities at risk of or in poverty are through the roof. The question is whether the Government is going to use budget 2024 to address the costs of being disabled.

Many things need to be done. We need investment in housing and ratification of the optional protocol. Specifically, though, I wish to ask about the disability allowance, the blind pension and the invalidity pension. During Covid-19, the Government recognised that the minimum anyone required to survive-----

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