Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1442. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of bringing all disability-related payments to €350 per week; and to provide details of this calculation, in tabular form. [47487/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1443. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of removing the means test for the disability allowance, blind pensions and invalidity pension. [47495/25]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1444. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of removing the means test for all disability-related payments and bringing them up to at least €350 per week (details supplied). [47496/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1442, 1443 and 1444 together.

My Departments disability related social assistance schemes are Disability Allowance and Blind Pension.  Disability Allowance is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability who are aged between 16 and 66.  Blind Pension is a social assistance scheme for people who are blind or visually impaired, it is a means-tested payment payable to those aged between 18 and 66.  Both allowances are also subject to a medical assessment and a habitual residency requirement.

Estimated expenditure on Disability Allowance and Blind Pension for 2025 is expected to be almost €2.4 billion.

Invalidity Pension, a social insurance scheme, is a weekly payment to people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability who are covered by PRSI contributions.  Therefore, Invalidity Pension is not a means tested payment.  Estimated expenditure for Invalidity Pension for 2025 is expected to be almost €0.8 billion.

Social welfare legislation provides that, for means-tested social assistance schemes, all income and assets belonging to the claimant, and his or her spouse/partner where applicable, is assessable for means testing purposes.  The purpose of the means test is to ensure that resources are directed to those with the greatest need for income supports by the State.  It is the nature of means-tested schemes that above a certain level of means a person is not entitled to a payment, as it is deemed their own means are sufficient to provide for their needs.

The earnings disregard for Disability Allowance and Blind Pension has increased by almost 38% since Budget 2021 from €120 to €165 currently.  People on Disability Allowance or Blind Pension can take up employment or self-employment and continue to receive all or part of their social welfare payment, depending on their income.

A person can earn up to €165 a week and keep their full rate of Disability Allowance.  Earnings between €165 and €375 from employment are assessed at 50%, and any earnings over €375 are fully assessed as means.  This means that a person can earn up to €517.60 a week and still keep their entitlement to the minimum rate of Disability Allowance and their secondary benefits.

The estimated full year cost of bringing all disability-related payments to €350 per week is approximately €1.3 billion.

Breakdown of cost by scheme in the table below:

It is not possible to provide a costing for the removal of the means test without details of the medical circumstances of the wider population of disabled people in Ireland, as well as information about eligibility with regard to other scheme requirements.