The recent report by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ) on a minimum essential standard of living (MESL) for a single adult with vision impairment has been made available to my Department.
The research provides a useful addition to ongoing analysis by the Vincentian Partnership using their minimum essential budgets methodology. This broad approach estimates the level of income needed to meet an individual's / household's physical, psychological and social needs, and which is calculated by identifying the goods and services required by different household types in order to meet these minimum needs. The report’s findings show that the cost of an MESL is estimated to be higher for a person with vision impairment than for members of the general population. Overall, it was estimated that the additional cost in 2016 for an individual with vision impairment was €44.54 more than the cost for a single adult in the main MESL (€241. 22). I understand that the authors are conducting further work in this area in relation to the income and other supports available to persons with a vision impairment and it would be expected that this analysis would contribute further to the information available.
The Department provides a range of income support for people with a disability and their dependants. People with vision impairment who require income support can apply to my Department for a blind person’s pension. There are currently some 1,280 people in receipt of a blind person’s pension at a cost of some €13.5 million in 2017. Alternatively, the disability allowance payment can be claimed by a person with vision impairment which substantially restricts them in undertaking suitable employment. The current rate of payment for both the blind person’s pension and the disability allowance is €193 per week for a single person. Budget 2018 provides an additional €5 per week for each of these payments, bringing the rate up to €198 per week next year.
Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. While these payments make a very significant contribution to broader poverty and social inclusion goals, they are not designed to address some of the wider issues associated with the cost of disability. One of the difficulties of providing a cost of disability payment is that people with disabilities are not a homogeneous group and as such would have widely differing needs with the result that the extra costs of disability would not arise to the same extent in all cases.
However, some of these additional costs are addressed across schemes provided by a number of agencies such as the Health Service Executive and also the Revenue Commissioners through certain tax reliefs and other supports. For example, I understand that a person who is blind or who has impaired vision can claim from the Revenue Commissioners the blind tax credit potentially worth €1,650 per year for a single person. I also understand that the Health Service Executive operates a supplement scheme which is means-tested – the blind welfare allowance – for blind people receiving certain welfare payments, including the blind pension. The current rate of payment is €58.50 per week for a single person.
While my Department keeps all its schemes and supports under review, there are no specific plans to change income support payments for the visually impaired. Any further increases in the rates of payments to people with disabilities, including those with vision impairment, would have to be considered in the context of the annual budgetary process.
