Disability Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Paul Murphy (PBP), Dublin South-West

On Saturday, I attended a powerful protest organised by the Affordable Ireland campaign. It was led by disabled people and disabled people's organisations. The focus of the protest was the cost-of-living crisis in general but in particular a demand for an emergency payment for those who have seen €1,400 in cuts savagely implemented in the past budget. A striking feature of the speeches was people responding to the ridiculing that happened in here about the notion that people are making real choices to heat or to eat. People spoke about their lived experience and this being the choice they face.
The Government is talking about a national human rights strategy for disabled people, while pushing people further into poverty with its political choices. When I raised this with the Taoiseach last week during Leaders' Questions, he pointed to an ESRI study that said the lowest income groups benefited most from the recent budget. I actually went and checked the report, which says the opposite. It says that the lower income households were hit harder. Will the Taoiseach listen to those on the street and implement a winter payment?

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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