Disability payment budget 2027: 'a slap in the face'

Those excluded seek a universal, non-means-tested payment instead

Working disabled people have been excluded from the disability payment budget 2027, which has been met with discontent.

The one-off €500 cost of disability payment only goes to people already receiving a long-term disability payment, while according to a group of working disabled people, they have been shut out of a new Budget 2027 payment.

As those excluded have said they want a universal, non-means-tested payment instead, they stressed that the exclusion is a "slap in the face".

The exclusion sits beside the Budget 2027 fuel excise cut and a €100 Budget 2027 voucher for teenagers, said James Cawley, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Irish Centre for Diversity, who is a full-time wheelchair user who works full-time.

Disability payment budget 2027 rules leave workers out

More than 346,000 disabled people are working in the Republic of Ireland, as per the 2022 Census.

The government drew the wrong line, according to Cawley, who said that "the €500 cost of disability payment is more of a top-up for disabled people, which is tied to a social welfare payment."

Cawley separated that payment from a rise in disability allowance announced in the same Budget.

He said that the allowance in question targets the cost of living rather than the cost of disability.

As he tied the €500 payment to an existing welfare claim, he said that it "reinforces an outdated understanding of disability."

Advocates say employment and welfare policy are pulling apart

Further, Cawley questioned why a government trying to raise disability employment would then exclude people who already have jobs.

He asked: "Is our policy fit for purpose, and does our employment policy and our social welfare policies communicate?", further warning some disabled people now avoid taking work, fearing it costs them other supports.

"Your disability doesn't disappear the minute you turn on your laptop or you log into work."

"I'm much more than a disabled person, I'm a son. I'm a husband, I'm a friend and I'm a taxpayer", Cawley added.

As RTÉ reported, the same complaint was raised also by Ann Marie Flanagan, who is part of the same group.

What is the cost of disability payment?

Budget 2027 introduced a one-off €500 cost of disability payment for people already receiving a long-term disability payment.

It is meant to help cover the extra costs disabled people face every day.

Why are working disabled people excluded from it?

The payment requires an existing social welfare disability claim.

Disabled people in employment who are not on one of those payments do not qualify.

Census 2022 recorded more than 346,000 working disabled people nationwide.

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