The National Disability Services Association (NDSA) represents a network of seven of the largest national providers of disability services in the community across Ireland. Our member organisations include Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, Cheshire Ireland, Chime, Enable Ireland, Irish Wheelchair Association, Rehab Group, and Vision Ireland. Across our member organisations, over 8,000 dedicated staff provide key clinical and social services to over 40,000 individuals and their families every year. Collectively, NDSA organisations manage almost €400m on behalf of the HSE in providing essential and valued services across Ireland. We work across the widest range of community and social care services – Children’s Disability Network Teams, education, training, personal assistance, community day care, employment, residential, respite and rehabilitation, and work with and for people across all ages, abilities and regions. The services provided by NDSA members are essential to ensuring the quality of life of those who receive them, providing dignity and enabling independence. NDSA works to ensure that the views and lived experiences of the people who use our services are heard and at the centre of policy and decision-making.
In preparing this submission, each of our organisations consulted widely with the people who use their services. Individual NDSA member organisations will be making their own submissions to the Department. However, we thought it important to come together as seven of the largest providers of disability services in Ireland to present a common platform. It is noteworthy that there was broad agreement across all services on the actions required by Government to tackle the cost of disability which demonstrates the strength of unity and agreement there is across the sector.
However, it is important that the Department recognises the diversity of needs and additional costs prevalent within the disability community and indeed, within one disability group itself. For instance, there can be a spectrum of different needs and associated costs for people with the same disability. Developing a Cost of Disability Payment that supports everyone who requires it, is a significant challenge, demanding sufficient time, coordination, meaningful consultation and co-design with disabled people and their representative organisations to reach collective solutions.
We believe that the process initiated by the Department should be given time to evolve and develop. While acknowledging the urgent need to allocate funding in Budget 2027, this should not be viewed as a final solution. It is crucial to continue the consultations, make adjustments as necessary, and develop a more comprehensive approach to a cost of disability payment.
Finally, we would propose a more inclusive title for the payment. A Cost of Disability Payment implies that people with disabilities incur additional expense on the state. As the IWA point out in their submission: “Costs arise from the interaction between people with disabilities and an environment that is not designed to accommodate them. They are ongoing, cumulative, and essential, not discretionary.”
Download the full submission below