Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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125. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his Department has assessed the at-risk-of-poverty rate for people with disabilities when the additional cost of disability is taken into account; if he will consider adjusting poverty measurement tools or setting revised targets in light of these findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24807/25]

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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128. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection in view of the higher poverty gap experienced by households affected by disability, the measures his Department is taking to address this disparity; if he will commit to setting targets to reduce poverty depth among disabled people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24810/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 128 together.

This Government recognises the additional costs associated with having a disability and is committed to improving outcomes for disabled people. In the Programme for Government, we have committed to

• Introduce a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment.
• Reform the Disability Allowance Payment and remove anomalies in the current means test for the payment.
• Progressively increase weekly Disability Payments and the Domiciliary Care Allowance.

• October 2024 cost of living bonus for people in receipt of a long term weekly social welfare payment.
• €400 cost of living lump sum payment for people in receipt of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension, paid in November 2024.
• €300 cost of living lump sum payment to all households getting Fuel Allowance, paid in November 2024.
• €200 cost of living lump sum payment to people who are getting a Living Alone Increase, paid in November 2024.
• €100 cost of living lump sum payment for people getting a Child Support Payment, paid for each qualified child in November 2024.
• Christmas bonus to all persons in receipt of a long-term disability payment paid in December 2024.
• €12 increase in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments from January 2025. There are proportionate increases for people on a reduced rate.
• Weekly rates of Child Support Payment increased by €8 to €62 for those aged 12 and over, and by €4 to €50 for under 12s in January 2025.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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126. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will consider reforming the State’s equivalence scales or poverty metrics to incorporate a disability-related weighting to reflect the higher cost of living associated with disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24808/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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This Government recognises the additional costs associated with having a disability and is committed to improving outcomes for disabled people. That is why the Programme for Government has committed to introducing a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment.

My Department is currently examining the best way of delivering an annual cost-of-disability payment, within the overall budgetary context. I would like to assure the house that all relevant research, including the recent ESRI report, which examined equivalency scales and poverty metrics will be given due consideration by my Department when progressing the work on the cost of disability.

However, equivalence scales are determined by the Central Statistics Office and so their reform is not within my remit.

I trust this clarifies the position.