During the general election last year, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin pledged that if his party led the next Government, it would place a top priority on disability services.
He said since 2020, the government had invested significantly in this area – but “it is just not where it needs to be”.
“There needs to be significant investment and reform,” Mr Martin said.
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris’ encounter with carer Charlotte Fallon in Kanturk during the campaign also brought the issue of disabilities to the fore.
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On taking office as Taoiseach, Mr Martin promised his administration would be one that “step-changes the level and scale of support for people with disabilities and their families”.
The Government maintains that a record level of funding is being provided to organisations delivering services.
But the sector says it is facing a crisis. In recent days more than 20 service providers maintained there were significant risks to their financial sustainability.
They argued State funding has not kept pace with rising costs and highlighted delays or inconsistency in providing sufficient money to cover mandatory wage increases – leaving them juggling to decide which bills to pay.
Insufficient funding, they contended, is exacerbating historic deficits on their books to such a degree that their auditors are warning that directors could face dangers under company law.
As most specialist services for people with disabilities are provided by voluntary bodies, there are concerns that such warnings could dissuade people from serving as directors in these organisations.
A similar issue is facing boards in some acute voluntary hospitals.
The boards of disability providers have now followed the path taken by hospitals last November in joining together to set out their concerns to authorities.
The Government has acknowledged problems in the sector.
Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton told the Dáil in April that some specialist disability service providers were experiencing funding, operational and governance challenges.
Ms Naughton said the risks facing such organisations were actively managed by the HSE through its oversight and monitoring of services, and where necessary, the provision of once-off supplementary funding and cash accelerations to organisations.
She said the Government had provided substantial additional funding to disability services to help meet their increasing costs while also incrementally expanding service provision to meet demand.
“Specifically, the budget for specialist disability services has grown by €1.6 billion since 2020. Notably, the bulk of these increases have been provided in the last two years, with an additional €272 million allocated in 2024 and €333 million allocated in 2025, bringing the total budget to €3.2 billion, including €27 million in capital.”
The Minister said that of the €333 million in additional funding in 2025, €290 million was allocated to maintain existing levels of service for people with disabilities.
