Letters

Disabled people and cost-of-living crisis

Disabled people five times more likely to exist in poverty than non-disabled people

Wed Sept 07 2022 - 00:09

Sir, – The winter looms and our electricity bills are frightening. As we come into Budget 2023 season, we must not forget that disabled people have faced a cost-of-living crisis for decades. In December 2021, the Government published an Indecon report it had commissioned on the extra costs of having a disability.

The findings were stark. For people with intellectual disabilities, the extra costs (on top of regular living costs) range €9,000 per year to €13,000 per year.

These costs include having to pay for therapies privately, housing adaptations, transport and many other hidden expenses which make life liveable. The report was broadly welcomed by activists and organisations like ours which had called for its publication. Nine months later, we still wait for the implementation plan while people’s lives are on hold.

In Ireland, disabled people are five times more likely to exist in poverty than non-disabled people. This absolutely must be recognised by the State. For some people, that poverty trap is a vicious cycle. One woman, Fiona, told us recently that she was offered a course in hospitality and catering. Fiona is 28, she has an intellectual disability and she wants to get a job in the service industry. A course was the perfect next step for her. Unfortunately, she cannot drive, and public transport is non-existent near her. Getting a taxi would mean choosing between staying warm and eating properly over winter or getting the education she needs to lift herself out of her current situation.

READ MORE

She chose food and heat, a cycle she will remain stuck in for some time.

In our pre-budget submission, Inclusion Ireland called for a non-means tested cost of disability payment of €50 per week for Fiona and every disabled person in 2023. This is a first step towards the recognition of the cost of disability. No one should have to choose between food and a pathway out of poverty.

Here comes winter; let’s hope there is some sign of spring for people with intellectual disabilities and all disabled people in 2023. – Yours, etc,

JULIE HELEN,

Communications

and Information Manager,

Inclusion Ireland,

National Association

for People with an

Intellectual Disability,

Dublin 1.