Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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920. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 62 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to introduce a non-means tested, targeted cost-of-disability payment for autistic people and disabled people with high levels of expenditure due to their autism diagnosis or disability; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57309/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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922. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 64 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to introduce specific targeted supports for those with the highest additional costs due to disability, including autism; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57311/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 920 and 922 together.

The Indecon Cost of Disability report was prepared following an extensive consultation with disabled people and disability stakeholders. This included one of the largest disability surveys ever undertaken in the State.

The report identified that additional costs of disability run across a number of areas of expenditure including housing, equipment, aids and appliances, care and assistance services, mobility, transport, communications, medicines, and additional living expenses. Furthermore, Indecon found that there is not a single typical cost of disability; rather, there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs of disability, depending on individual circumstances.

It is very clear that the findings in the research have implications for many areas of public policy. Based on this, one of report's conclusions was that a multifaceted, whole of Government approach is required to address the cost of disability.

It is for this reason the Government decided that the report, and actions to be taken on foot of the report, should be considered and monitored by the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group, under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

The work of the Steering Group, chaired by the Minister of State for Disability, was due to end in 2021 but was extended to the end of 2022. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are in the process of developing a new disability strategy which will be informed by the Cost of Disability report. Officials in my Department will contribute to the development and implementation of this strategy.

A number of measures introduced as part of Budget 2024 to support people with disabilities and carers, reflect some of the findings of the Indecon report and has alleviated some of the costs experienced. These measures include:

• Additional funding to include provision for Free Travel Scheme for those medically certified unfit to drive.
• A reduction in the minimum weekly hours of work from 21 to 15 hours for employers to avail of the Wage Subsidy Scheme.
• An increase in the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple.
• A €400 cost of living lump sum paid to people getting a Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension.
• A €300 cost of living lump sum for those getting the Fuel Allowance.
• A €200 cost of living lump sum to people who are getting a Living Alone Increase.
• A Christmas Bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment.

However, despite the measures in the recent budget, there is still a need to reform our system of disability payments to better target supports and better account for the cost of disability. In September, I published the Green Paper on Disability Reform to begin the conversation about improving these supports and further addressing the cost of disability.

The aim of the Green Paper is two-fold. First, it seeks to better insulate disabled people who cannot work from poverty by providing for higher rates of payment. Second, it seeks to support and encourage a higher level of employment for people with disabilities by tailoring the provision of employment supports to suit a person’s capabilities.

I would like to emphasise that the Green Paper is not a final design. It is only a starting point for a structured discussion on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It offers one possible approach on how to target limited resources - its proposals are intended to invite discussion, debate and suggestions.

I encourage all those with an interest to express their views in our public consultation by making a submission in writing or by video. It is essential that we hear from as many disabled people and representatives as possible. I have extended the consultation period until 15 March 2024 to ensure everyone has adequate time to make a submission.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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921. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 63 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to introduce a non-means tested, targeted cost-of-disability payment for the carers to autistic people and disabled people with high levels of expenditure due to their autism diagnosis or disability; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57310/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2024 is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion on these payments.

The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. Carer's Allowance is means tested and does not require any social insurance contributions. The means test is used to target the support to those most in need.

While the caring requirements of the caree(s) will be different, this does not affect the rates of the allowance, which is intended to provide an income support for the carer and does not depend on individual care requirements.

In addition to Carer's Allowance, this department also provides a number of other income supports for carers which are not means tested. Carer’s Benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their hours to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. For those providing ongoing care and attention for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, Domiciliary Care Allowance is available and is also not means-tested. Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16, who has a severe disability and requires care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. It ceases to be payable when a child reaches 16 years of age. The young person can then apply for Disability Allowance if they meet the eligibility requirements.

Furthermore, the annual Carer's Support Grant - which I increased to its highest-ever rate of €1,850 - is also available to carers who are not on a social welfare payment. The grant is paid in a single lump sum annually, usually on the first Thursday in June. The grant is not means-tested and is not taxable and is paid in respect of each care recipient. Carers may use the grant in a manner that is appropriate to their needs. The grant is paid in respect of each person being cared for to take account of the additional cost of providing care and to recognise the particular challenges faced by these carers.

Since my time as Minister I have introduced a number of measures to support people with disabilities and carers, to improve their living standards and to mitigate the impacts of the rising cost of living. These include a combination of once-off payments, increases to the rate of weekly income support payments and increases to income thresholds. I have continued with this targeted approach as part of Budget 2024, such measures include:

• €12 increase in maximum personal rate of weekly payments, with proportionate increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates, from January 2024.
• €10 per month increase for people in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance from January 2024
• From June 2024 the earnings disregard for Carer's Allowance will increase to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple.

• These include Double Payments in December and January.
• €400 for people in receipt of disability payments and people receiving the Carer’s Support Grant, paid in November.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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923. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 65 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to increase the income disregard for disability allowance and carer’s allowance to account for the high costs of disability; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57312/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance is a payment for people who are aged between 16 and 66 with an injury, disease or disability that has continued, or may be expected to continue, for at least one year and, as a result of this disability, the person is substantially restricted in undertaking work that would otherwise be suitable. The allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency requirement.

From January 2024, the maximum personal rate of payment is €232.00 with the maximum adult dependent rate at €154.00. Rates for child dependents are €46.00 for children under 12 and €54.00 for children over 12.

There are over 161,400 recipients of Disability Allowance as of October 2023 and the total estimated expenditure on the scheme for 2024 is over €2.1 billion.

Disability Allowance is structured to support recipients to avail of work opportunities, be that self-employment or insurable employment.

When an individual commences employment, they can avail of an income disregard of €165 per week. In addition, 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 are also disregarded for the purpose of the means test.

The earnings disregard for recipients of Disability Allowance has increased by almost 38% over the last four budgets from €120 to €140 to €165 currently. This enables them to earn more without having a negative impact on their means tested payment. A person can now earn a maximum of €495.10 per week and still keep a portion of their Disability Allowance payment.

Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which my department provides income support to carers in the community. Some 95,848 people are supported by this payment. Estimated expenditure on this scheme in 2024 is €1.1 billion.

The primary objective of the payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced as a consequence of their caring responsibilities and in so doing to support the ongoing care of the person in respect of whom care is being provided.

As part of Budget 2022 I increased the income disregards from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.

In June 2024, the weekly income disregard will be further increased from €350 to €450 for a single person, and from €750 to €900 for carers with a spouse/partner.

This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €117.50 for a single carer and €235.00 for a carer who is part of couple, during my time as Minister for Social Protection. These are the highest income disregards in the social welfare system. It is also worth noting that the capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was also increased in 2022 from €20,000 to €50,000.

Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of significant improvements to the social welfare system to enhance the supports available for our carers and for disabled people. Any further changes to the income disregards would have cost implications and therefore could only be considered in an overall Budgetary and policy context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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924. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 66 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to recognise the work of carers and the services they provide the State by establishing a pilot scheme for a basic income entitlement or a participation income to replace the carer’s allowance, in line with the recommendations of an organisation (details supplied) and the Joint Committee on Gender Equality; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57313/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.

The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2024 is expected to amount to almost €1.7 billion on these payments.

The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which my department provides income support to carers in the community. Some 95,848 people are supported by this payment.

The conditions attached to payment of Carer’s Allowance are consistent with the overall conditions that apply to social assistance payments generally. The means test ensures that support is provided to those most in need and plays a critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of caring.

Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of improvements in the social welfare system to enhance the supports available for our carers.

• In June 2022 the income disregards were increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
• As part of Budget 2024, the weekly income disregard will be further increased from €350 to €450 for a single person, and from €750 to €900 for carers with a spouse/partner.

I am familiar with submission referred to by the Deputy calling for the introduction of a form of non-means tested payment or basic income for caring work.

Carer's Allowance does not purport to be a payment for care, and I do not intend to deviate from the underpinning principle of this scheme being an income support payment.

However, I am establishing an Interdepartmental Working Group with the Department of Health to examine and review the system of means test for carer payments.

I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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925. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 67 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to establish a grant to assist autistic people and disabled people in paying for larger, one-off expenses; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57314/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability, including autism. Entitlement to these supports is contingent on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work. It is not dependent on the nature of the illness or disability. The income supports available are Illness Benefit, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and Partial Capacity Benefit.

My Department provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have essential expenses, which they cannot meet from their own resources. This assistance is available to anyone who needs it, even to those who are working but on a low income.

The decision process involves consideration of the need presented and the ability of the person and their household to meet that need. This entails an assessment, as opposed to a specific means test, of an applicant’s weekly household income, their savings and investments, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed. Other State supports that may already be available to the person are also considered. This ensures that support is provided to people with the greatest financial need.

I am confident that there are supports in place for disabled and autistic people who need assistance to pay for larger, once-off expenses and therefore I do not consider that a specific grant, as suggested above, is required.

Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place – 0818-607080 – which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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926. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in line with Action 68 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to benchmark the rate of disability allowance and other social protection payments to ensure that autistic recipients can achieve a minimum essential standard of living; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57315/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) is an assessment of the minimum income needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life for various household types.

My Department has partly funded this excellent, detailed work of the Vincentian MESL Research Centre at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and I find it extremely useful.

One of the benefits of the work is that it provides an analysis of the different levels of income needed for a wide range of household types, including the different costs that arise for households in rural and urban locations.However, differentiating social welfare payment rates based on location would be problematic and could lead to inequities being created within the welfare system.

The MESL research also highlights issues that may be better solved with greater access to services, rather than increases in income. In this regard, having access to secondary benefits such as medical cards and supports in the areas of housing and childcare can result in significant reductions in the minimum income standards needed by households. This is also the case for additional costs associated with having a disability, which the Indecon Cost of Disability report found are significantly broader than income supports. These costs run across many areas of expenditure, including housing, transport, health, and education, and need to be addressed across Government. This presents another difficulty in using the MESL as a benchmark for the level of social welfare payments alone.

The estimated annual cost of bringing weekly social welfare rates in line with the MESL, including the Qualified Child Increase, would be approximately €2.3 billion.

Over recent years I have improved supports for people with disabilities through weekly rate increases and cost of living payments. In Budget 2024 the following measures were announced which people on long-term disability supports may benefit from:

• €400 once-off payment for Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and Carer’s Support Grant recipients;
• €100 lump sum for each Qualified Child;
• Double Child Benefit payment;
• €200 lump sum Living Alone Allowance payment;
• €300 lump sum Fuel Allowance payment;
• Christmas Bonus double payment;
• January Cost of Living Bonus double payment.

• €12 increase in the maximum personal rate of weekly payments from January 2024;
• Increase the weekly rate for each Qualified Child by €4;
• Reduce the minimum weekly hours threshold for employers to avail of the Wage Subsidy Scheme from 21 to 15 hours from April 2024;
• Extend Free Travel to people medically certified as unfit to drive from July 2024;
• Extend Child Benefit to 18 year olds in full time education from September 2024.