Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak this evening. When this Government took office last January, we promised a step change in the delivery of supports and services for people with disabilities and their families. Budget 2026 is the first step in delivering on this ambition. Some €3.83 billion will be provided to specialist disability services in 2026. That is an unprecedented increase of €618 million, or almost 20%. This funding will be directed at services delivered by the HSE section 38 and section 39 organisations, which do such valuable work on the ground. The increased allocation will help provide financial stability to a sector that has seen significant cost increases over recent years in addition to a rising demand for their services.

The key areas of investment in 2026 include an additional 1,400 day service places for young school leavers in 2026 and 50 places for older adults who currently do not have a service; provision of some 10,000 overnight and 15,000 day respite sessions, as well as alternative respite packages; provision of 150,000 home support and personal assistance hours; supports for people in need of residential placements; €20 million to procure approximately 6,500 private assessments of needs for those families waiting the longest; and continued recruitment across disability services, with around 1,000 staff to be hired in 2026, which will include therapists. Specialist disability services will also see their capital allocation grow in 2026 by €15.3 million to €43 million.

The blueprint for our spending decisions is the national humans rights strategy for disabled people, which was published just over one month ago. It will be our charter right out to 2030. This is a whole-of-government strategy that was shaped by the voices of disabled people. Budget 2026 will help deliver the ambition expressed during that consultation process.

It is also worth noting that a whole-of-government approach has been adopted in the framing of budget 2026. Colleagues across the Government will announce today and tomorrow details of other supports for disabled people and their families. These include more therapists in primary care, additional special education teachers and SNAs and targeted supports for disabled people, including an expansion of the wage subsidy scheme and increases in the domiciliary care allowance. The Government believes that disabled people should be able to access the right services at the right time within their communities. Budget 2026 is the first step in making that a reality.

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