John Dolan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I note that Senator Conway mentioned Dine in the Dark and congratulated people on attending and participating in it. I was there last night and I am very happy to acknowledge the work he did and congratulate him on it. It was a very enlightening event by virtue of being in the dark. It was a moment when we could realise what daily life is like for some of our fellow citizens.

Before I attended the event I was reading a report by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland and the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. It examined the cost of living for basic needs, not what people want. The minimum essential standard of living for a single adult with visual impairment cost €285.76 per week in 2016. That is €44.54 more than the main minimum essential standard of living for a single adult with vision. There are real but ordinary extra costs, daily and weekly, for people who have disabilities. I acknowledge that the Government increased the disability allowance and other related income supports by €5 to commence early next year. That is across the board. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, a Government outfit, told us in January of this year that people with disabilities are going further into poverty while the rest of the population is thankfully, and that is my word, moving slightly in the other direction. I request that the Leader now call on the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to come to this House to set out the issue. The facts are presented in this bird's eye report on one group of people, but according to the CSO people with disabilities are in fact experiencing more poverty and exclusion.