Submission on the Costs of Disability - April 2026

In April 2026, Disabled Women Ireland (DWI) submitted a response to the Government’s public consultation on the Cost of Disability. The submission outlines key issues affecting disabled people in Ireland, with a particular focus on the experiences of disabled women and gender-diverse people.

Overview of our submission

Our submission examines the financial impact of disability, highlighting the combination of additional living costs and barriers to income experienced by disabled people. These include expenses related to healthcare, transport, housing, energy, and assistive supports, alongside structural challenges in accessing employment and social protection.

We also talked a lot about the intersectional nature of these challenges, noting that disabled women may experience additional financial pressures linked to gender inequality, caring responsibilities, and barriers within healthcare and employment systems.

We used a combination of research, exisiting policy and insights from our “Disabled Women & Poverty: The Cost of Exclusion” event, which provided qualitative evidence of how these issues are impacting people on a daily basis.

Policy Considerations

We recommended a number of measures to help disabled people to meets the costs of disability

  • The introduction of a Cost of Disability Payment to help address additional, disability-related expenses.

  • Reform of social welfare and taxation systems to improve adequacy, accessibility, and consistency.

  • Removal of means testing on existing payments

  • Improvements in related areas such as housing, transport, healthcare, and access to assistive technology.

A central theme of our submission was the importance of co-design. We emphasised that disabled people and their representative organisations should be actively involved in the development and evaluation of policy.

We feel that this consultation represents an initial step in addressing the cost of disability. But we also feel that there is a need for a structured and ongoing process of engagement between Government and Disabled Persons’ Organisations to develop effective, long-term solutions.

Read our full submission here: