The Disability Federation of Ireland is seeking €500 million funding from the Government in the next budget.
In its pre-budget submission, launched at the Mansion House, Dublin yesterday, the organisation said the funding was in line with the Government's commitments in Towards 2016, the 10-year social partnership agreement published in June 2006.
In particular, the group is calling for the introduction of a cost of disability payment allowance of €40 per week for people in receipt of means-tested social welfare payments, at a cost of €175 million annually.
Federation chief executive John Dolan explained that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty as others in Ireland, and because of extra costs they incur as a result of their disability, their allowance does not go as far as that of people on unemployment assistance.
The federation also want to see the disability allowance increased by €20 a week to €185, at a cost of €88 million annually, while it is hoped that €75 million in funding can be set aside to address residential and day-to-day support needs of adults with significant disability currently living in inappropriate accommodation.
The group has also called for €90 million worth of capital and current expenditure to be put towards the provision of accommodation for people who experience mental illness. They are also seeking an investment of €20 million to reduce the caring role of children for people with disability and an increase of €35 million in funding for the Disabled Persons Grant Scheme.
The federation wants €5 million allocated towards 1,651 participants and supervisors for related Fás community employment schemes, and a further €5 million should be invested in capacity building for the disability sector.
Mr Dolan said that, if implemented, the plan would give practical day-to-day support to over 100,000 people who are disabled and their families.
He said the Government had done a "marvellous job" with the national disability strategy, but it needed to be acted upon in the budget.