Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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558. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an update on how his Department is addressing the rising cost of living for people with disabilities; the plans to increase core disability supports in response to inflation and the well-documented extra costs associated with living with a disability; and if a review is being considered to ensure income adequacy and social inclusion for disabled people. [32187/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Improving the position of disabled people is a priority for Government. That is why the Programme for Government includes a range of commitments in this area. There are commitments in relation to an Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment, rates of payment and means testing of disability payments. We will advance these commitments over the lifetime of the Government in the annual budgetary context and in light of available resources.

These developments will build on progress made over the last number of years, where we took steps to recognise the additional costs associated with having a disability. In the last three Budgets we brought forward an extensive range of cost of living measures to support people with disabilities and their families with increases to weekly disability payments and Child Support payments.

Over the last four budgets the Government has progressively improved payment rates and income disregards for disabled people. The earnings disregard for Disability Allowance and Blind Pension has increased by almost 38% since Budget 2021 from €120 to €165 currently. This enables those in receipt of Disability Allowance and Blind Pension to earn more without having a negative impact on their means tested payment. People can earn up to €165 per week and keep their payment in full and can earn up to €517.60 per week and keep a small portion of their payment. The weekly payment rates for disability payments have increased by €41 since Budget 2021.

Income adequacy and social inclusion for disabled people is a very important challenge and will be included in the upcoming update to the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025. The public consultation on the successor to the Roadmap for Social Inclusion is open until the end of June 2025 and all submissions are welcome.

The Social Inclusion Forum was recently held in Croke Park. It was hosted by my Department in partnership with the European Anti-Poverty Network and Community Work Ireland. The Forum was preceded by six regional preparatory workshops organised around the country by the event partners, which discussed solutions to poverty related to persons with disabilities. The Social Inclusion Forum programme included a specific workshop on the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, which was attended by persons with disabilities and disabled persons organisations.

These types of engagements inform the development of further improvements to our schemes.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.