Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday at the launch of the summer economic statement the Taoiseach stated that the budget will support people with disabilities. If the Government is serious about that commitment, this budget has to deliver more than one-off measures. It has to address the structural issues around income inequality for disabled people, including a weekly cost-of-disability payment and an increase in core social welfare rates. In every meeting that I have with disability groups, they highlight the one-off cost-of-disability payment as something that feels insulting because they have a disability for 365 days of the year and a one-off payment just does not cut it. Vital disability supports are inaccessible for so many. This is down to the consistent failure of government after government to invest in critical services. In last year's budget, disability services received an extra allocation of a pathetic €64 million, when the Department's own capacity review said we need €1 billion in the next couple of years. That is not to mention the lack of workforce planning and the impact that is having on children's disability network teams, not one of which is fully staffed around the country. Will the Taoiseach commit to providing more than one-off measures in this year's budget for people with disabilities, including a cost-of-disability payment, and to investing in recruitment for those vital roles?

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