Budget 2027: A First Step on The Cost of Disability, but Still No Plan for The Future

Budget 2027 was announced on Tuesday 6^th October 2026. Before the Budget, we sent the government our pre-budget submission, Our Rights, Our Voices. It was based on surveys with 1,500 people across the country, including people with an intellectual disability, their families, and supporters.

There are good things in Budget 2027. For the first time, there will be a permanent payment to help with the extra costs of having a disability. There is also more money for respite and more staff in schools.

The Budget still does not do enough to help people plan for their future. Most new places to live with support are still for emergencies. The new payment is also much smaller than the real extra cost of disability.

Below, we look at each of the four areas we asked about.

 

Money and the Cost of Disability

What we asked for

Inclusion Ireland asked for a permanent Cost of Disability payment, designed around what each person needs. Research has found that having a disability can add more than €10,000 a year to a person’s living costs. We also asked the Government to end the means test for Carer’s Allowance and to increase the Fuel Allowance.

 

What we got

There will be a €500 Cost of Disability payment each year. The first payment is due early in 2027. It will go to about 240,000 people who get a long-term disability payment, such as Disability Allowance. Government says the payment is permanent, and that it will work with disabled people on how it should look in future years.

Weekly payments such as Disability Allowance go up by €10 from January 2027. The Living Alone Allowance goes up by €3 to €25 a week, its first increase in five years. The Fuel Allowance goes up by €5 to €43 a week.

The means test for Carer’s Allowance will stay. From July 2027, carers will be able to earn a little more before their payment is reduced.

What we think

A permanent payment matters. Disabled people and their families have campaigned for it for many years, and it can now grow in future Budgets. Still, €500 a year works out at less than €10 a week. That is a very small part of the real extra cost of disability.

People with an intellectual disability must have a real say in how the payment is designed. We will push for this when the design process starts.

 

Housing and Supported Living

What we asked for

Inclusion Ireland asked for at least 300 new planned places for people to live with support. Planned means the person moves when they and their family are ready. We also asked for help for 100 people to move out of nursing homes that are not right for them, and for more personal assistant hours.

 

What we got

Government says the Budget will fund 489 new or improved places to live with support. This includes people moving out of nursing homes and other institutions. Of these, 212 are brand new places, and 112 of those are for emergencies. That leaves 100 new planned places for the whole country – roughly four per county.

Funding will also help 45 people under 65 to move out of nursing homes. There will be 191,000 extra hours of home support and personal assistance.

 

What we think

The extra personal assistance hours are welcome. They help people live their own lives in their own communities.

But 100 planned places are a third of what we asked for. Most new places are still for emergencies. In practice, a person often only gets a place when a parent dies or becomes too ill to care for them. Families in our survey said planning for the future is what they most need help with. Waiting for a crisis is not a plan.

Next year matters even more. The National Housing Strategy for Disabled People ends in 2027. What replaces it, and whether money comes with it, will shape people’s housing options for years.

 

Supports for Children and Families

What we asked for

We asked the Government to make sure children get the therapies they need, when they need them. We also asked for more respite and for more support for families during school holidays.

 

What we got

There is an extra €15 million for respite. Government says this will pay for 14,700 more respite sessions over a full year. There is also funding for 150 new posts in Children’s Disability Network Teams. These are the HSE teams that provide therapies such as speech and language therapy to children with complex needs. There is nothing about changes in summer or school-holiday provision.

 

What we think

More respite is welcome. Families tell us it is one of the things that helps them most.

Three in four families in our survey pay for therapies themselves. Almost two in three said delays in HSE services had a big effect on their child or their family. The 150 new posts will help, but we do not yet know which therapies they will cover.

A child has a right to an assessment of their needs. There is still no right to the therapies that the assessment says they need, and this Budget does not change that.

 

Inclusive Education

What we asked for

We asked the Government to give mainstream schools the support they need to include children with an intellectual disability. We also asked for a national plan for inclusive education, and for an independent way for families to complain when things go wrong.

 

What we got

There is €3.8 billion for special education. This will pay for 2,339 more Special Needs Assistants, who support children in class, and 1,353 more Special Education Teachers. There is €6 million for teacher training, including a new State-funded course for teachers on inclusive education. Another €7 million will pay for therapists in special schools, which the Government says will slowly extend to mainstream schools.

 

What we think

More staff and better training are welcome. The new course is a good step towards mainstream schools being ready for every child.

The Budget does not include a plan for inclusive education or a new way for families to complain. A quarter of parents in our survey said their child’s needs had been dismissed at school. Families need somewhere to turn when that happens.

 

What we still don’t know

Some Budget figures are not clear yet. We do not know exactly what the 489 places include, or which therapies the 150 new posts will provide. Inclusion Ireland have asked TDs to put these questions to the Government, and we will share the answers when we get them.

 

What happens next

Over the next year, the Government will design the Cost of Disability payment and write a new housing strategy for disabled people. Inclusion Ireland will make sure people with an intellectual disability and their families have a say in both.

 

Read more

Our Rights, Our Voices: Inclusion Ireland’s Pre-Budget Submission (Easy to Read)

Our Rights, Our Voices: Building an Ireland Where Everyone Belongs – full pre-budget submission

Citizens Information’s Budget 2027 Explainer

All News

• Share: