Cost of Disability: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-26
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Louise O'Reilly (SF), Dublin Fingal West

The Minister of State said in his contribution that one payment would not resolve anything but if you have not got any money to pay for a taxi and you need to get to an appointment, a payment makes all the difference. What we have spoken about this evening is the money people with disabilities need to live. One payment makes a difference. A more permanent payment would absolutely make a difference but if he was listening to people with disabilities, the Minister of State would understand they were struggling right now. When you are in an emergency - these are people who face an emergency every single day - one payment makes a difference. That is what people are asking for. They have an emergency now. They do not have enough money to live now. They need an emergency payment now.
Nobody has said there is not a cost to disability. The Minister of State knows that there is, that the Government took €1,400 a year from people with disabilities last year, that the cost of living is rising and that this is impacting people with disabilities disproportionately. All of this he knows, and even if he did not, there is report after report that would tell him. This consultation process is dragging it out, people are being made to wait and they are being told that it is not sustainable to give them an in-cash payment now, but it is not sustainable to ask people to make those horrible choices between heating, eating and charging mobility devices. People with disabilities are used to being fobbed off and ignored but, by Jesus, they were gaslit this evening. The Minister of State should reflect on that. Do not come in here and tell people that there is not an emergency or that he thinks they can wait. They cannot wait. We do not get endless hours of speaking time in this Chamber. We use our time really carefully because we only get one chance a week. We are standing up for people with disabilities. The Minister of State is not listening and the Government is not listening. People with disabilities cannot wait. It is cruel that the Government is ignoring them.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26