Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The 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.

My Department published the Green Paper on Disability Reform in September 2023. The Green Paper sought to reform my Department's system of disability payments to better target supports and better account for the cost of disability using a tiered payment system. The Green Paper was a consultation document and was withdrawn following feedback.

Any reform of disability payments will now be considered as part of a broader review of disability matters on a whole-of-government basis and will take account of the feedback received during the Green Paper process.

The Government has prioritised the development of a new National Disability Strategy; a cross-governmental strategy that will have a focus on improving access to services and bringing down these extra costs. Alongside this, the Taoiseach has recently established a dedicated Cabinet Committee on Disability, with a view to driving and monitoring progress on implementing Programme for Government commitments in this area. As part of that work the Department will examine the best way of delivering on these commitments within the overall budgetary context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.