Proposed Cost Of Disability Payment: Everything you need to know
Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of talk about a proposed cost of disability payment, so let's break down all the details we know so far.
It is unclear what the payment will consist of, but according to an Indecon report in 2021, additional Costs of Disability averaged between €9,482 - 11,734 per year.
For a severely limiting disability, the additional Costs of Disability averaged between €13,159 and €16,734, and for a limiting disability, the additional costs averaged between €8,525 and €11,579.
Indecon stated, “This suggests that there is a need for the state to provide supports to individuals with disabilities via a range of supports including income supplements, needs assessed grants and direct service provision.”
According to the Disability Federation of Ireland, for the past three Budgets, the government has provided one-off Cost of Disability supports. In Budget 2026, because of this Disabled people relying on income supports are losing up to €1,264 in once-off payments from Budget 2025.
Last week, social protection minister Dara Calleary, while speaking to the Irish Examiner, stated that a cost of disability payment was a priority for 2026.
In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Minister Calleary said he wanted to see a budget proposal provided to him before the summer.
Minister Calleary stated, “It’s going to be challenging to get an agreement on what that [payment] looks like but we want to work towards that and try to capture all of the costs within it,”
Then on the 5th of January Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality Emer Higgins told the Irish Examiner that Minister Calleary is expected to bring forward a plan for the payment in the first quarter of 2026.
She said that it would hopefully be in place after next year's budget and that the payment was not going to happen overnight because the practicalities of it had to be teased out.
"What would that payment look like? What rate would it be set at? How would you qualify for it? How would it be paid? And monthly, quarterly, only in the winter months, as some of the opposition parties are calling for, they're all questions that need to be answered on it."
Deputy Liam Quaide TD of the Social Democrats, the party’s spokesperson on disability, said:
“The latest commitment on this issue from Disability Minister Emer Higgins must be followed by clear timelines setting out when this badly needed payment will be introduced.”
“A cost of disability payment to acknowledge the additional financial burden of living with a disability has long been talked about…
The need for a cost of disability payment was identified as far back as 2004. That principle was reaffirmed in the State-commissioned Indecon report, published in 2021, so the evidence has been there for over two decades.
Against this backdrop, it is deeply frustrating to hear Minister Higgins speak in vague terms of her ‘hopes’ to see a cost of disability payment included in the next budget. The reality is that disabled people are struggling right now talking about future plans does not put food on the table, pay energy bills, or cover the cost of transport, equipment, or personal assistance.”
Source: DFI, Irish Examiner (1) (2), Indecon & Social Democrats