Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
542. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline he is working towards for publication of the Cost of Disability Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29660/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Cost of Disability in Ireland report was commissioned by the Minister for Social Protection and was prepared by Indecon International Research Economists. It was published by the Department of Social Protection in December 2021. It provides important evidence of the additional costs that people with a disability face.
The Report has implications for many areas of public policy. As such, a whole-of-Government approach is required to develop appropriate responses and to ensure that everyday costs are reduced for people with disabilities and their families. This is in keeping with Ireland's long-standing mainstream-first approach to the development of disability policy. For that reason, the Cost of Disability report was referred to the Steering Group of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDISSG) within 24 hours of publication, and the NDISSG agreed to consider the conclusions and recommendations of the report in the context of monitoring actions under the NDIS until the conclusion of that strategy in December 2022. During this time, departments and agencies across Government reported to the NDISSG on the various ways in which the Cost of Disability report was informing their approach to delivering actions under the NDIS. The NDIS has now ended.
While my Department has no plans to develop or publish a specific cross-Goverment Action Plan to respond to the Cost of Disability report, I will continue to ensure that the Cost of Disability report informs actions within the context of the specialist community-based disability services which my Department has responsibility for since the transfer of functions from the Department of Health on 1 March 2023.
Work is ongoing across Government to coordinate the development of a successor strategy to the NDIS. It is important to me that this strategy includes meaningful action to reduce day to day costs for people with disabilities in Ireland. The Cost of Disability in Ireland report will be an important contribution to the evidence base from which actions and commitments in the new strategy are developed across Government throughout 2023.
