Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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66. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on the cost of disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59450/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I seek an update on the cost of disability. I understand that the straw man work is under way. Will the Minister give us an update on that?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

The Indecon cost of disability report identified that additional costs of disability are a wider issue than income supports and run across a number of areas of government.

These include housing, equipment, aids and appliances, care and assistance services, mobility, transport, communications, medicines, and additional living expenses.

The cost of disability can be defined as the amount it costs a person with a disability to achieve the same standard of living as a person without a disability. There is not a single typical cost of disability; rather, there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs, depending on individual circumstances.

As the findings of the research have implications for so many areas of public policy and extends beyond the remit of the Department, a whole-of-government perspective is needed to address the cost of disability. This is why the Government referred the report to the national disability inclusion strategy steering group, which Is chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for disability. This group comprises of relevant Departments, agencies, a disability stakeholder group and people with disabilities. The group will consider and monitor recommended actions required by the various Departments biannually.

A number of the measures I introduced as part of budget 2023 in support of people with disabilities and their carers address some of the findings of the report and will go towards alleviating some of the costs experienced. These include a combination of lump sums, increases to income disregards and increases in core weekly payment rates.

My Department is also committed to developing and consulting on a straw man proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments. A further objective is to simplify the system and remove anomalies. The straw man will be informed by the Indecon cost of disability report.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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It is important that there be engagement with those organisations on the ground and the report has disabled people to the fore. Can the Minister give us any additional information on the straw man proposal and on whether there is a timeline for that? It is so important. The cost of disability report was published nearly a year ago. It is not the first report to say that a cost of disability payment needs to be introduced. I understand the lump sum payments will make some difference but they relate to the cost of living. They are not to recognise disability as per the cost of disability report unless that is something that the Minister sees continuing on as a cost of disability.

I assume the other schemes such as disability allowance and invalidity pension will all be part of the straw man proposal. Can the Minister confirm that? The means test in particular causes great difficulty for an awful lot of people living with a disability.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I had a good discussion just a couple of hours ago with the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, and its member organisations at a strategic general meeting. I was speaking to Mr. John Dolan from DFI. There was positive feedback on the €500 disability support grant. There was recognition that we pushed the door ajar within the system by introducing that payment. We need to keep pushing that door open. My Department is working on reform of disability payments. I intend to publish the straw man proposal on these reforms shortly for consultation with the sector and get the views of the advocacy groups. The cost of disability report recommended payments on a tiered basis, for example. There are mild, moderate or profound levels of disability and, therefore, a flat rate is not appropriate. A person with a profound disability who might never be able to work would receive a higher payment than somebody with a mild disability who can. That makes sense. Those are the lines along which I am thinking.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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When the Minister says “reform of disability payments”, what payments is she including in that? Does it include, for example, the blind pension or the invalidity pension? The publication of the straw man proposal is welcome and important. She said it would happen "shortly." I love the word "shortly". Does that mean this side of 2023 or are we talking about the new year?

There is clearly an issue for people who rely on payments such as disability allowance. The latest data on poverty and deprivation published survey on income and living conditions, SILC, relates to 2021. Across the board, at-risk of poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty are up. Almost 20% of people with a disability are living in consistent poverty in 2022. That is why it is so important that we get these income supports right for this cohort of people.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To be fair, we have done a good deal of work in supporting people with disabilities. The cost of living double payment was paid to people getting disability allowance, invalidity pension, blind pension, disablement benefit and partial capacity benefit. There was a €500 cost-of-living lump sum. The disability support grant was paid to people in receipt of a long-term disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind pension. There was a €200 cost-of-living lump-sum payment for people getting a disability payment and who received a living alone increase. There was a €400 cost-of-living lump sum fuel allowance payment and a Christmas bonus double payment next week to all persons getting a long-term disability payment. The domiciliary care allowance will increase by €20.50 to €330 per month from January 2023. That is the first increase since 2009. From January 2023, there will be an increase of €12 in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments. There will be proportionate increases for qualified adults for people getting a reduced rate. The domiciliary care allowance will be available in respect of children with severe illness or disability who remain in hospital for up to six weeks after birth. I spoke to Anna Gunning from Children in Hospital today. She welcomed those changes. Last year, I changed the domiciliary care allowance up to six months. The disablement benefit will be disregarded in the means assessment for fuel allowance from January 2023. There is a €1 million expansion of the reasonable accommodation fund to support people with disabilities in the workplace. That is something I want to focus on. I want to help people with a disability who can work to break down the barriers, whether it is for them or employers, to see how we can get more people back to work in a tight labour market. They have a huge contribution to make. I am keen to focus on that as well. I have increased the earnings disregard for disability allowance and blind pension for people who go back to work from €140 to €165 from the beginning of January 2023. The means assessment threshold for fuel allowance increases from €100 to €200 over the basic contributory pension rate. That means that more people on disability will qualify.