Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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171. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an emergency winter payment to offset the withdrawal of once off payments such as the disability cost-of-living payment will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64546/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits to introducing a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment. Our Programme for Government commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the overall policy and budgetary context.

In Budget 2026, I provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures.

Government has been very clear that there would be no once-off measures in this year’s Budget. We are at the start of a five-year programme for Government and not everything can be done in year one.

However, the Budget package contained significant targeted measures to support disabled people.

These measures include:

• A €10 increase in the weekly rates of payment, bringing the personal rates of payment to €254 per week from January.
• A Christmas bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment, to be paid in December 2025.
• A €20 increase in the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance bringing the rate to €380 per month.
• A €5 increase in the Fuel Allowance, bring it to €38 per week from January 2026.
• People moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension to take up work will be able to retain their Fuel Allowance payment for five years. The Back to Work Family Dividend is also being extended to this group, where they have children.
• From January, extending the Wage Subsidy Scheme to people who acquire a disability while in employment and increasing the rates paid from April.
• Increase the Earnings Disregard for Carer’s Allowance by €375 to €1,000 for a single person and by €750 to €2,000 for a couple from July 2026. The income limit for Carer’s Benefit will also increase by €375 to €1,000 per week from July 2026.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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172. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to conduct a review of the impact budget 2026 will have on disabled households over the winter months given the removal of once-off payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64547/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Government recognises the significant additional costs that disabled people can face in their daily lives and is committed improving outcomes for disabled people by introducing permanent measures.

That is why the Programme for Government includes a range of commitments to support disabled people. Our Programme for Government commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the overall policy and budgetary context.

In Budget 2026, I provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures.

Government has been very clear that there would be no once-off measures in this year’s Budget. We are at the start of a five-year programme for Government and not everything can be done in year one.

However, my Department's Budget 2026 package contained significant targeted measures to support disabled people. These measures include:

• A €10 increase in the weekly rates of payment, bringing the personal rates of payment to €254 per week from January.
• A Christmas bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment, to be paid in December 2025.
• The highest ever increases in the Child Support Payment – an increase of €16 to €78 for children aged 12 or over, and of €8 to €58 for children under 12.
• A €5 increase in the Fuel Allowance, bring it to €38 per week from January 2026.
• People moving from Disability Allowance or Blind Pension to take up work will be able to retain their Fuel Allowance payment for five years.
• People getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension who have children will be eligible for Back to Work Family Dividend when taking up employment and moving off those payments.
• Expansion of the Wage Subsidy Scheme to people who acquire a disability while in employment and to those who transfer from Invalidity Pension to Partial Capacity Benefit, and increasing the rates paid from April.

• Increase the Earnings Disregard for Carer’s Allowance by €375 to €1,000 for a single person and by €750 to €2,000 for a couple from July 2026.
• The income limit for Carer’s Benefit will increase by €375 to €1,000 per week from July 2026.
• €20 increase in the monthly Domiciliary Care Allowance payment bringing the payment to €380 per month from January.