The National Disability Authority (NDA) has called for a Cost of Disability Payment to be made to people living with disability if they are to achieve the same standard of living as a non-disabled person.
NDA chairwoman Ms Angela Kerins made the comments while speaking at the publication today of The Disability and the Cost of Living Report, which was commissioned following a request from the Cost of Disability Working Group set up under the PPF.
The report found that the extra cost of living for people living with disability would cost the Government some €168 million a year.
Ms Kerins said the National Disability Authority sees the Cost of Disability Payment as a basic equality issue. "The 'cost of disability' can be defined as the amount it costs a disabled person to achieve the same standard of living as a non-disabled person," she said. "A Cost of Disability payment would help equalise the cost of living experienced by people with disabilities, whether they were in employment or not."
Payments would depend on the level of assessed need of people with disabilities with payments ranging from €40 a week at high levels of disability, to €10 a week at moderate levels of disability.
A significant share of people living with disabilities in Ireland face extra costs of heating, transport, and general day-to-day living that are not covered by state assistance.
The authors of the research, Indecon International Economic Consultants, reviewed Irish and international studies on the cost of disability, conducted a survey of people with disabilities in Ireland, conducted econometric research and looked at international best practice in this area.
A key recommendation of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities (1996) was to introduce a Cost of Disability payment.
The National Disability Authority works on behalf of the State to promote and help to secure the rights of people with disabilities.
