Disabled people will experience increased hardship this winter because of the government’s failure to introduce a weekly cost of disability payment and other targeted supports in the budget, according to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide.
Speaking on International Day of Disabled Persons, Deputy Quaide, who is the party’s spokesperson on disability, said:
“Next Tuesday, the Irish Wheelchair Association will hold a protest outside the Dáil where they will call for an emergency winter payment for disabled people. The IWA has pointed out that without targeted supports, thousands of people with disabilities will face increased hardship and isolation.
“The association has calculated that people with disabilities will be €1,400 worse off a year as a result of bad political choices made in Budget 2026. This was due to the removal of supports such as the one-off cost of disability and living alone payments and the discontinuation of energy credits.
“In our alternative budget, the Social Democrats proposed a €20 per week cost of disability payment as a first step to addressing the significant cost of having a disability. We also proposed an extra €15 per week in Disability Allowance. Combined, these measures would have increased disabled people’s income by over €1,800 a year.
“In addition, we had proposed a payment of €400 in targeted energy credits aimed at vulnerable households.
“Unfortunately, despite some improvements in recent years, the experience of people with disabilities in Ireland continues to be one of social exclusion. The government must listen to the concerns of Disability Persons’ Organisations and do so much more to prevent disabled people from falling into poverty.”
December 3, 2025