Social Welfare Payments
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I am happy to engage with the Deputy and the rare diseases group around those issues and the proposals the group may have in relation to the systems within the Department. As I said in my response, we provide a range of supports for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability, and that includes people with rare diseases. Eligibility is not dependent on the type of rare disease but on how that disease impacts on a person’s ability to work and earn an income. The scheme already supports persons to work where they can. That is why we have an income disregard for the disability allowance. That income disregard is €527.60. That allows the person to work part-time within the confines of their condition if it affects their ability to work.
To come back to the meeting we had yesterday, we had a small discussion about the design of forms and the application process. That is something we are going to pursue. I am happy to engage with the Deputy in relation to that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26