Disabled people cannot wait until 2028 for a permanent Cost of Disability Payment – Senator Laura Harmon
Disabled people cannot wait until 2028 for a permanent Cost of Disability Payment - Senator Laura Harmon - The Labour Party
Senator Laura Harmon, Labour spokesperson for Disability has today said Budget 2027 does not take disabled peoples’ reality into account, she said:
“Poverty is permanent in the lives of so many disabled people in Ireland. The €500 payment offered in today’s Budget amounts to a meagre €9.62 per week on average. In Labour we have called for a minimum of €55 per week to be introduced by 2028. This Budget was an opportunity to provide more financial security by introducing a weekly cost of disability payment for all, but Government have let disabled people down again.
“It is unacceptable that the Cost of Disability public consultations and forums conducted by Government did not respond to the calls of disability organisations and disabled people. The Government has failed yet again in this Budget to address the true cost of disability.
“A permanent Cost of Disability payment must be introduced. We cannot allow Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to delay these vital supports.”