Departmental Strategies
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Ruairí Ó Murchú (SF), Louth

The Taoiseach has already mentioned the fact that those with a disability are unfortunately in a different set of circumstances. Many of us were at the Affordable Ireland campaign march at the weekend and we heard directly from those with disability about the severe pressure they are under. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, it comes down to heat or eat. These are decisions that have to be made that fortunately nobody in this room has to make. We need to look at the cost of disability in the round and I welcome the review process. That is fine but it is about the people who cannot afford to make payments now. Whatever about not making one-off payments across the board but for those with disability, it could be looked at. I also ask that the Taoiseach looks at the issue in relation to the high cost of hearing aids and that we would see that working group review.
Beyond that, there could be up to 400 trainees for the National Ambulance Service, who could be looking at having to reapply and who are not sure of their jobs. That is a particular issue that needs to be dealt with.

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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