Budget 2027: A first step on the cost of disability, but not the change disabled women need

Disabled Women Ireland | 12th October 2027  | Dublin, Ireland

Disabled Women Ireland welcomes some of the measures in Budget 2027, but overall it falls short of what disabled people were promised and what we need. Too much of it is short term, reactive and framed around services rather than rights.

Cost of Disability Payment

Budget 2027 introduces the first ever Cost of Disability payment. It will be a €500 lump sum paid in 2027 to people receiving a long-term disability payment, including Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension. Government has also committed to a co-design process with disabled people and their representative organisations on how the payment will be structured and delivered in future years.

In our engagement with Government and civil servants over the past year, DWI asked for two things: that a Cost of Disability measure be introduced in Budget 2027, and that a robust engagement process with Disabled Persons’ Organisations be started. Both have now been committed to, and we welcome that.

But €500 is not enough. Disabled people face extra costs estimated at up to €15,000 a year, and a single lump sum does not come close to meeting them.

The payment also needs to reach further. As announced, it only goes to people already receiving a long-term disability payment. Disability does not go away when someone is in work. Disabled people who are employed, or who don’t meet the means test for a weekly payment, still carry the extra costs of disability and must be included. This is why Disabled Women Ireland has consistently called for an abolishment of the means test for Disability Allowance. 

We welcome this as a first step. Now the real work begins: making sure every disabled person is properly supported, and that the Cost of Disability payment sits within a broader set of changes, as we set out in our Cost of Disability submission. The co-design process must start without delay, and DPOs must be properly resourced to take part in it.

Community Living

We are very worried by the increase in residential places. We want disabled people to be living in the community with the support they need, and this does not sound like that. The budget funds 212 new residential places, but more than half are for emergencies. That is a system reacting to crisis and to ongoing campaigns for more places, not planning for people’s lives.

The language matters too. These are people’s homes, not “placements”. A home means choice, privacy, relationships and control over your own life. Calling it a placement keeps disabled people inside a service model.

Under the UNCRPD, Ireland has committed to the right of disabled people to live independently and be included in the community. That means moving away from institutions and giving people real choice about where and with whom they live. This budget does not reflect that commitment, and we are worried it is slipping.

Government says the extra funding for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will provide more refuge spaces, but there is no commitment to making them accessible. Disabled women must be able to reach safety when they leave an abusive situation. That means refuges that are physically accessible, but also includes ensuring that information about refuges and support services are provided in formats people can use, such as Easy to Read, Irish Sign Language and screen-reader-friendly websites. It means helplines that Deaf women can contact, and staff trained to support disabled people with a wide range of access needs. A refuge that a disabled person cannot access is no refuge at all.

Education:

Budget 2027 allocates €3.8 billion to special education, including 2,339 additional Special Needs Assistants, 1,353 additional special education teachers and €6 million to expand special education training for teachers. However, some of these measures do not align with Ireland’s obligations under the UNCRPD, which requires an inclusive approach to education. That approach has not been prioritised in this budget, and there is still no bigger-picture plan to achieve it. 

What was missing

Budget 2027 was a chance to bring Government spending in line with our commitments under the UNCRPD. It did not do that, and it is disappointing.

Disabled people should be supported to live lives of their own choosing, deciding where and with whom we live and how we spend our days. That needs to be properly resourced so that disabled people can be part of their communities from childhood to old age. This budget does not do that.

There is also no clear commitment to multi-annual funding for Disabled Persons’ Organisations. DPOs are expected to engage with consultations, co-design processes and the National Human Rights Strategy, yet we are funded year to year, if at all. If Government wants disabled people’s voices in policy, it has to fund the organisations that carry them.

Looking ahead

Ireland will soon be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Government will need to show how its spending delivers on its commitments. DWI will continue to engage with Government and civil servants. We expect the co-design process for the Cost of Disability payment to begin without delay, with DPOs properly resourced to take part. We will be pushing for Budget 2028 to close the gaps left this year.

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About Disabled Women Ireland:

Disabled Women Ireland (DWI) is Ireland’s only national disabled person’s organisations (DPO) representing disabled women, girls, non-binary and gender fluid people. We adopt a broad conceptualisation of disability in line with Article 1 of the UN CRPD. DWI currently has over 200 members and is an DPO as outlined in Article 4.3 of the CRPD, as all of our members are disabled women and gender minorities, as is our Steering Group. Our members actively shape the work of DWI through regular consultations, direct engagement, and online participation. We bring a critical cross-impairment perspective to all disability-related policy and legislation, while embedding a strong gender analysis throughout. This ensures that the voices and experiences of disabled women and gender minorities are reflected in the development of inclusive, rights-based policy.

For media information, please contact: 

Amy Hassett | E: disabledwomenireland@gmail.com

Nem Kearns | E: disabledwomenireland@gmail.com