December 2011

Serious concerns at Budget changes to Disability Allowance – Inclusion Ireland

Inclusion Ireland CEO Deirdre Carroll says there are major concerns over changes to Disability Allowance announced today (Monday 5th December) as part of Budget 2012. Inclusion Ireland is relieved that flat rates for Disability Allowance for people aged over 24, and Carers Allowance have not been affected, but people with disabilities have been affected harshly by this Budget:

• New claimants of Disability Allowance aged under 25 will have their payment reduced from €188 per week to €100 for people aged 18 to 21 and to €144 per week for people aged 22 to 24. People with disabilities living independently or with their families, who are attending disability services,  have already faced a myriad of cuts, such as reductions in the amount of day service provided (for example from 5 days per week to 3 days), and increased charges for areas like respite and transport. These cuts and new costs remain the same regardless of the age of the person receiving the service;
• People living full-time in disability services must pay Health (In-Patient) Charges. For a young person living in a disability service who is receiving €100 per week in Disability Allowance, they will have to pay up to €65 per week in Charges. Inclusion Ireland has expressed serious concerns in the past about how this charge is levied. Individual needs are supposed to be taken into account, but often are not. This will leave young people with just €35 a week after the charges are deducted. This does not promote inclusion into society;
• The qualifying age for Disability Allowance has risen from 16 to 18. This means young people aged 16 and 17 will no longer qualify for Disability Allowance. While acknowledging that this will bring Disability Allowance in line with other social welfare income payments, and that the age of entitlement to Domiciliary Care Allowance has been raised to 18, there is a massive difference in payment rates for the two allowances: Disability Allowance amounts to €832.57 a month (weekly payment of €188 divided by 7 multiplied by 31), while Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is €309.50 per month. This is a difference of €523.07 a month – a large amount of money for people with a disability and their families, especially given the extra costs associated with disability. DCA does not take into account any individual needs, and the number of people being refused DCA has risen sharply in recent years, an issue Inclusion Ireland has raised many times. A phased approach to this would have been more desirable;

ENDS