Disability Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Mark Wall (LAB), Kildare South

On world hearing day, I again want to raise the case of James Reardon and Ruth McSkane, who face a bill of €10,000 for hearing aids. I have previously raised with the Minister for Health the case of a lady in my area, Maggie Owens, who is involved with Irish Sign Language and creates great bond with the language in the town of Athy. At a time when some 50% of our population with a disability of working age is not in employment, expenses such as cost of hearing aids are prohibitive. In 2024 the Department of Health set up a working group to develop a national hearing care plan. Can the Taoiseach confirm the status of the report? Can the Government consider the costs which prohibit those from with disabilities from entering employment?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03