Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
1. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in light of her not proceeding further with the consultation on the Green Paper on disability payments, she intends to examine a cost-of-disability payment; and whether she intends to introduce different reforms to the disability payments. [18467/24]
View answerI apologise to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Minister for being late. I appreciate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle taking these questions now.
I know Deputy Tully has a similar question, namely question No. 6. Many people welcomed the decision not to proceed further with the with consultation on the Green Paper and to walk away from the proposals examined in it. Questions now arise as to what happens next. What happens with the opinions that were submitted? There is a recognition that some reform is needed. How does the Minister intend to proceed with that?
I will deal with Deputy Tully's question later.
I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this matter. I am committed to addressing the cost of disability and improving outcomes for people with a disability. I announced a number of measures to support people with disabilities in budget 2024, including a €400 lump-sum payment in November, a Christmas bonus double payment in December, a cost-of-living bonus payment in January and a €12 increase in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments. The free travel scheme is also being extended.
The Indecon report on the cost of disability identified that additional costs of disability run across many areas of expenditure, including housing, transport, health and education. The report found that there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs of disability, depending on individual circumstances. The report concluded that disability payments should be targeted to those most in need and who face the greatest additional cost of disability rather than spreading resources thinly.
Taking account of this analysis I commenced a consultation process on the Green Paper last September. Under the draft approach people with more profound challenges would receive a significantly higher level of payment. However, based on the feedback I have received to date, it is clear that there are significant concerns about the proposals, including with regard to how we would distinguish between people with significant challenges, attracting the higher level of payment, and other people with disabilities. Concerns were also raised about reforming the structure of long-term disability payments separately from a wider consideration of the other issues including access to education, transport and health.
Our new Taoiseach has placed a major emphasis on improving supports and services for people with disabilities in all aspect of their lives. He has announced his intention to establish a special Cabinet committee on disability. Accordingly, rather than proceeding further with the Green Paper process we will use the submissions received to inform this broader review of disability matters.
The question still arises as to what happens next. The Indecon cost of disability report rightly indicated that different people have different costs of disability and that people with higher costs relating to their disability should receive greater support. There were a number of problems with the Green Paper. One was that it conflated severity of disability with the higher cost of disability whereas that is not necessary the case. There are many other variables, including geography. Sometimes there is a cost to going to work. Different types of disability can cost differently and there may be different housing costs. The advocates for disability payment have advocated that it is a relatively individualised payment. The examination of the cost will require work and consideration. There are also problems and inconsistencies with the current system even aside from that. For example, someone on disability payment does not qualify for a stamp but someone on invalidity payment does. Issues like that need to be ironed out.
One of the main findings of the cost of disability report was that there is a broad spectrum of disabilities. We all recognise that some people need more support than others.
We all recognise that. There are some people with moderate disabilities who are able to work and some with profound disabilities who we know will never be able to work. That is the reality. The Cost of Disability in Ireland report specifically said it should be targeted at those most in need and that is what the proposal in the Green Paper was attempting to do. I accept there were concerns. It is clear people were not happy with it. I have listened to those genuine concerns and we now have to go back to the drawing board and take a fresh look at this. In fairness, the Taoiseach has put a major focus on this area. We have a Minister of State with responsibility for special education sitting at the Cabinet table. That sends a very strong message of the Taoiseach's commitment. In addition, a new special Cabinet committee on disability has been established. It is important because it means all the key Ministers and Departments have to examine how we look at this in an holistic way across government. Sometimes things can fall between different Departments.
I agree this may have been what it was intended to do but conflating the cost of disability with severity of disability, when they are not always precisely the same thing, was a problem and there were concerns. I welcome the fact the Minister has listened in that regard but what we do not know is, and this may not be decided yet, if there is a timeline on it. The Minister referred to a broad review within the Department or across other Departments. There was a general consensus among people with disabilities and disability organisations that they wanted reform and change. This paper was not what they wanted but they do want change. That feeling is still there. The question arises what timescale we are looking at for a broader review. When do new proposals come back onto the table? Will they be co-designed with the organisations? It is also important the Department of enterprise is part of this because we have very low levels of employment. Some of that is cultural and some of that is due to obstacles to people taking up opportunities.
Regarding the Department of enterprise, the Deputy is right that it has an important role in getting the message out to employers that all workplaces need to be assessable. That is why I will be shortly announcing a new and improved scheme to support employers in adapting their workplaces for disabled people. The Deputy mentioned transport. I am extending the free travel pass to anyone who is medically certified as being unable to drive. That is going to be a big help to people with disabilities. Again, I am doing that within the social protection system but I want to hear what the Department of Transport will do. The Department of Health has a role in improving services. The Department of Education has a role as well. The Department of housing has a role in providing grants to help people to adapt their homes. Income supports are only one part of the puzzle here. We need to look at this in the round through the new Cabinet committee and come up with an holistic response across government. The Deputy is right. Organisations did not want the Green Paper but we need to engage with them too to try to find out what their views are. We did have a lot of consultation on the Green Paper, so we can take learnings from the feedback we got there as well.
