Emer Higgins
Dublin Mid-West · Fine Gael · Ireland
“With regard to the background, and as the Senator has touched on, this project was designed on the basis of a 30-year operational lease, with the primary objective of delivering value for money over the lifetime of that lease.”
“Regarding the specific situation in Castlebar that the Senator has raised, Tusla has indicated that following careful consideration, including extensive negotiations, which he referred to, and legal mediation with the developers, it was unable to reach an agreement.”
“They came forward, often at enormous personal cost, and continued to seek answers and accountability when the very systems that should have protected them had failed. For many survivors of child sexual abuse, the abuse does not end when it stops.”
“The strongest projects are those that invest in feasibility studies, site assessments, stakeholder engagement and detailed design from the outset, because decisions made at the earliest stage often have the greatest impact on cost, quality and operational performance.”
“As a result, it made a significant uplift on its original offer. The additional increase sought could not be justified, however, when benchmarked against comparable projects across both Tusla and the HSE. That comes back to the value-for-money argument.”
“Justice Michael White for their significant work and acknowledge how deeply distressing the findings are. They reveal repeated missed opportunities, ignored warning signs and systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur over many years. Children who should have been protected were instead left vulnerable.”
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“Through the annual budgetary process, the Department has helped the disability sector to meet the increased costs associated with existing service provision while also incrementally expanding service provision to meet demand. Every year, the Estimates process allows the HSE to request funding for the full cost of service provision, including cost increases experienced during that year. In this year's budget, the Department provided €3.9 billion for HSE specialist disability services. As I said, that was a substantial increase of €628 million, or almost 20% above 2025, the largest ever increase in funding for disability services. It also follows significant year-on-year funding increases in recent years. In fact, there has been an overall increase of €1.85 billion, or 91%, since 2020.”
“The Government acknowledges the essential role voluntary organisations have in delivering a range of disability services. The Department has provided substantial additional funding to HSE specialist disability services since the transfer of functions in 2023. In this year's budget, €3.9 billion is provided for. In budget 2025, it amounted to €3.2 billion, so there was quite a substantial increase of almost 20% in that one year alone. These substantial additional investments demonstrate the Government’s commitment to supporting disability services, along with the provision of significant year-on-year Supplementary Estimates.”
“Ultimately, what we all are committed to - the HSE, our Department and every person working in our CDNTs across the county - is ensuring families receive the supports necessary to meet their children's needs. Systematic changes have to happen in order to do that and the introduction of the single point of access, along with the 19% increase in the HSE's disability budget for this year to more than €3.8 billion, are clear steps that show we are very serious about this.”
“I thank the Deputy for saying he feels that the single point of access is a sound concept. It is something I am very much committed to and I know it is something the Ministers, Deputy Foley and Deputy Carroll-MacNeill, are very committed to also. The HSE has done a huge amount of work on this. Ultimately, the rollout of a single point of access will be supported by the HSE community connects ICT system and by the regional implementation plans, which are now with each region so they can be fully refined. We expect this to be implemented soon. In terms of the HSE and the College of Psychiatrists, if the Deputy would like to suggest to the college to write to me or the Minister, Deputy Foley, we would certainly take on board its feedback and be a conduit to the HSE if it feels there are any roadblocks there.”
“It has gone to the six regions for their input and based on their feedback, regional implementation plans, which were developed in late 2025, may require further refinement to ensure full alignment with the agreed national approach and with the supporting digital infrastructure. Ultimately, and this is the important bit and goes to the nub of the Deputy's question, clinical governance for each area will remain under the remit of the regional executive officer. Local areas will continue to exercise their clinical and professional judgment to manage and find resolutions to cases in line with existing HSE policy, practice and procedures.”
“The Deputy is right that more complex cases will often require further clinical interventions or reviews to ensure the most appropriate pathway of care. Decisions on how this is managed will continue to be made at a local level. Once the work for a single point of access is complete, the outcome of the referral will be communicated to the referrer, and the child will then be assigned to the appropriate service. In recent weeks, the HSE access and integration team, which is leading the single point of access programme, has developed a high-level standard operating procedure, SOP. That sets out the core processes and requirements necessary to deliver on the single point of access commitments. This is currently under review by the six regions.”
“A standardised, online, publicly available children and young people’s services referral form has been finalised by the HSE and that single form and will replace over 20 manual forms that have been used until now. It is now being digitised to optimise the referral pathway and timelines for signposting each child to the service or services most appropriate to meet their needs. Following the receipt of a digital referral form and engagement with the person who made the referral, the referral will then be reviewed and triaged, and this triage will continue to be locally led.”
“This is to solve that problem because we know that is not fair. The roll-out is expected to commence on 24 June and will continue throughout this year. The SPoA model will be supported by the Health Service Executive's community care record at that time as a key enabler for the administration and delivery of services. A national oversight group and six regional implementation groups are leading the programme. The single point of access referral model across all six regions will be achieved through resourcing, partnership and collaboration, and the design and development of a single integrated pathway and streamlined referrals process. It is not expected to give rise to an additional staffing requirement but local areas will deploy existing resources in a way that best suits the needs of their area.”
“The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and ensuring they receive the right services at the right time. The HSE has been developing a single point of access, SPoA, referral model. As Deputy Quaide has said, this will ensure that children are referred to the appropriate healthcare service, whether that is primary care, disability services or child and adolescent mental health services at an early stage. As a result, children will not be put on multiple waiting lists or be passed from one service to another. I am sure the Deputy has had the same feedback from parents and families, as I have from constituents. Sometimes parents feel they get to the top of the waiting list and they are told they are on the wrong referral path and they go to the bottom of another queue.”
“The Taoiseach has convened a Cabinet committee on disability meeting for Monday. Two of the topics that will be the focus of that meeting will be residential respite and housing. The Department of housing will be at the meeting. The Minister for housing and his officials will be at that meeting as well as ourselves. As I said in my opening remarks, while disability is absolutely a priority in our Department, it needs to be a priority in every single Department.”
“We have got to keep going, we have to stay motivated, we have to do this together. We are asking for this to be done on a cross-departmental basis. I would like it to be done a cross-party basis, too, so that where we have good ideas, we come together, share them, drive and work together because we all have the same ambition here, that is, to improve the lives of people with disabilities. That is what it boils down to. We all know them. They are in our families and communities. We want to have a positive impact on their lives. That is what my team and I, and more importantly, my officials and the officials that I work with in the HSE do every day in work. I thank them for their support and hard work. I apologise, as I should have mentioned this when I spoke about the Before We Die campaign.”
“It is the community participation fund. The group may well be a candidate for that. I thank Senator Martin Conway for sharing his lived experience. I thank Senator Cosgrove for sharing her experience as somebody who worked in this area. While it is difficult for me to intervene in any potential industrial relations matters, I certainly would be open to hearing what the situation may be. Again, I thank all the Senators who have participated in this debate. I particularly thank the Senators who have acknowledged the progress that we are making. That is important for the morale of people who day in and day out are delivering so much hard work in the HSE, the Department and section 38 and section 39 organisations, as well as our advocates. Their voices are being heard, they are being listened to and they are delivering change.”
“Speech and language therapy. The HSE now has an initiative called Glór, which is specifically for delivering speech and language therapy to children with Down's syndrome. It is a whole lifespan approach. For the first time ever, a number of organisations came together, including Down Syndrome Centre, Down Syndrome Ireland, Hub 21 and someone else who I am forgetting. There were four organisations that all came together with a funding proposal for the HSE because it is very clear that we needed to intervene to support people in that situation. I hope that is good news. The Senator also spoke about her particular group, which might benefit from funding. Our Department, together with Rethink Ireland, launched a funding call about two weeks ago. It is still open. The Senator can check the Department's social media on that.”
“Respite has a role to play when it comes to supporting families where an individual may eventually end up in residential care. Respite is an intervention that can help. Senator Kennelly said that very clearly. I am glad to hear that there will be a senior leader visit at the respite centre. I hope that is a success. I thank Councillor Teddy O'Sullivan Casey that the Senator works with. His wife is a great advocate, too. Senator Sarah O'Reilly spoke about Down's syndrome children. Actually, I cannot remember if it was children or young adults.”
“-----to get those changes into county development plans. That would be really helpful. I acknowledge the good work that is happening there. That kind of forward planning will help the situation that Senator Nelson Murray spoke about where we are talking about retrospectively upgrading homes from an accessibility perspective and housing adaptation grants. That will get us into a situation where we are more futureproofing homes. That is really positive. I thank Senator Nelson Murray for her feedback in relation to the VAT. Someone - possibly the same Senator - said that to me last week as well. It is something that I have made inquiries on ahead of the budget. The thresholds and accessibility are something that I will continue to work on across Departments.”
“We want to move from a situation of crisis to a situation of planned responses because that is the fair and right thing to do. One of the Senators mentioned Donegal. I was in Letterkenny on Friday. I met the access officer there who informed me that 30% of all local authority builds were accessible accommodation. That is welcome. I hope other local authorities take that lead. All Senators have great relationships with councillors. I ask them to encourage councillors when it comes to the county development plans-----”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach. I appreciate that. Many of those new roles are already filled at this stage. They are going to be helpful to make sure that we are moving from a situation of dealing with crisis cases. Up until now, the funding has only been in place to be able to provide for crisis cases. What we want to do is be able to deliver on a planned basis. For the first time now this year, we have funding in the budget for planned residential places. It is not enough and is a small amount compared with where we need to get to, but that funding is there. We now need to prove that we can fill it, make it work and that this delivers. That gives us the opportunity to ask for additional funding in next year's budget, so we can grow it year on year.”
“We have four out of six of them filled. Those roles are to act as the conduit between the HSE or the provider and the local authority, AHB or developer. We want to get this moving. That is where urgency-----”
“The Living My Life programme that Senator Rabbitte spoke about was also spoken about at that meeting with the HSE and the Before We Die campaign. I met Remember Us with Deputy Grace Boland. It was discussing that same issue. Earlier today, I met with a young advocate to also discuss that issue. The Living My Life programme is relevant. The Senator is absolutely right. That is why it was spoken about at that meeting with Before We Die. The new housing officer positions within the HSE are really important. They relate to what Senator Tully spoke about as regards her local authority area of Cavan. We now have six positions for each health organisation area within the HSE that will be related to housing. I do not have the exact title with me, but it is like a housing officer within the HSE. A number of those roles are already filled.”
“That is something that I am really committed to doing in this space. I thank all those people who are volunteering their time for this campaign because they are families who are already under pressure. They already have so many additional responsibilities compared with many other families, particularly people of that age, and they should not be in that situation. I am working with them and the HSE to help to resolve that situation for as many people as we can. I thank Senator Rabbitte for her remarks. I acknowledge the incredible amount of work that she has done in this sector and for people with disabilities and the tangible and real impact that she has had.”
“My understanding is that a letter of apology has issued and that happened a number of weeks ago, and rightly so. We were very clear that the letter should have gone out. My understanding is that it did. A numbers of Members - Senators Clonan, Sarah O'Reilly, Harmon, Tully, Kennelly and others - referenced the Before We Die campaign. I was at meetings this morning, but I understand that this morning's meeting of the Committee on Disability Matters was very emotional. I am not surprised by that because I have met that group twice. The first time was at their request. It was an emotional meeting. The second time was at my request because I asked if we could do a follow up meeting and if the HSE could be at that meeting so that we could have the right people around the table to be able to make progress.”
“That is what we are delivering on. Senator Clonan spoke about two pieces of correspondence. One was his correspondence to me, 0923 on 14 April. He should have received a reply and I suggest he checks his inbox. I got that triple checked while I was here. An acknowledgement went to him on that date. He also referred to a letter having been withdrawn. I have chased this twice with the HSE. That letter should never have happened. That letter should never have gone out. Nobody can stand over that. I have asked twice whether an apology was issued. I have been told twice that an apology has been issued to the mother of the young person at the centre of that. I have asked to see a copy of that apology. I was told, and I completely accept, that I cannot see a copy of it because there is personal information in it. I have taken that at face value.”
“I see it in the section 38 and section 39 organisations that I visit. I see the sense of urgency by our DPOs and organisations which are all working collaboratively. We have record funding. We now have strategic planning. We have new law coming in. Reviews have been announced of the two most significant pieces of legislation, the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act and the Disability Act itself. We have a disability unit sitting in the heart of Government, in the Department of the Taoiseach. We are recruiting people. Senator O'Reilly used the word "tangible"; that is tangible. We have new laws. We have policies. We have people. We have new budgets. We cannot do anything unless we have that. My officials, the HSE and section 38 and section 39 organisations have come together and successfully fought for that.”
“I know that survey has just finished and was live up to about ten days ago. The responses are being collated and the results will help form the cost-of-disability payment as committed to under the programme for Government. I certainly hope and expect it will be in the upcoming budget. Senator Margaret Murphy O'Mahony spoke very eloquently about the direction of travel being very clear. We have record investment and a genuine shift in policy. While I completely acknowledge Senator Clonan's frustration and respect where he is coming from as a parent, an advocate and a politician, I concur with what Senator Murphy O'Mahony said that there is a clear direction of travel here. I do not accept what he said around urgency because I see urgency every day. I see it with my Department officials and with officials in the HSE.”
“That is another example which shows that the issue of disability is now cross-departmental. Just today, I met with representatives of an organisation who expressed an interest in participating in that and I hope that will be accommodated. That is really progressive and a good step forward. In-school therapies were mentioned by numerous contributors. While that is led by the Department of education, it is a really significant intervention. That is now happening in many special schools across the country. It was ramped up quite quickly and we will continue to do that. I thank Senator Tully for reminding me that responsibility for the cost of disability is not in my Department. However, a lot of work is happening on that. The Minister, Deputy Dara Calleary, has recently run a consultative forum and a survey on the cost of disability.”
“I thank the Acting Chair and all the staff in the Seanad for facilitating us in running late. It is really important that everybody who wants to contribute to this debate has the opportunity to do so and it is really important that I have the opportunity to listen to those views. I thank everybody who contributed. I have copious notes so I ask Senators to bear with me while I try to respond as best I can to the issues raised. Employment was first raised by Senator Byrne and was also touched on by Senator Martin Conway, Senator Tully and Senator O'Loughlin who reminded us of the success of the OWL programme. I really welcome that we now have had the first meeting of the forum on unemployment of persons with disability, convened by the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputy Alan Dillon.”
“I can make my contribution shorter if that is within the rules. I would like everybody to be able to contribute. It is a question of what the Chair and Members feel. It is their House, not mine. I would like to accommodate everyone.”
“I hope I gave a small indication of the huge amount of work being done in the Department by my committed officials, as well as in the HSE, in terms of the reforms that are being introduced and the efforts under way to transform the really significant uplift in budget we got this year into improved and expanded services and, most importantly, improved outcomes for people with disabilities across Ireland.”
“Alongside the legislative agenda, we are also looking at a step change in funding for disability services. We are investing heavily in our workforce and are building on progress from last year. This year we will fund an additional 976 whole-time equivalents and 74 whole-time equivalents through agency conversion. We will have a total growth of over 1,000 whole-time equivalents in the HSE and will bring the disability workforce to over 23,600 by the end of the year. I really appreciate the Cathaoirleach allowing me to go over my allotted time.”
“Turning now to legislation, the Department is currently undertaking a review of the Disability Act. This will examine and update the statutory framework that underpins co-ordinated action across Government and disability issues with the aim of strengthening delivery mechanisms and supporting a more effective whole-of-government approach. As part of this work, the review will also progress the programme for Government commitment to place an autism strategy on a statutory footing. In addition, I have committed to commencing a review of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act later this year. This will be a comprehensive review, considering all aspects of the Act. Crucially, it will be informed by the voices and lived experiences of those directly affected by its provisions, as well as wider society.”
“It will help build a sustainable workforce and it will deliver on a programme for Government commitment to align disability services rates with those paid for supports in other sectors. Looking ahead, the Department is advancing the development of a policy framework to support community living. This will bring together key supports such as home support, personal assistance and personalised budgets to a clearer and more consistent approach for the future.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach; I appreciate that. Other important supports funded by my Department include home support and personal assistance services. Approximately 7,000 people with disabilities in Ireland currently receive home support, including both adults and children with a wide range of needs, while almost 3,000 disabled adults receive personal assistance services. These services play a key role in supporting independence and enabling people to live in their own communities. That is why this year's budget provided €5 million to deliver over 150,000 additional home support hours and personal assistance hours this year. This year's budget also saw a substantial investment of €15 million to increase the rates paid for delivering home support and personal assistance services. This will help providers recruit and retain staff.”
“Despite sustained pressures, waiting lists were reduced by 28% last year and progress is being made on the recruitment of staff to our CDNT teams with the HSE reporting a 28% increase in staffing levels nationwide between October 2023 and 2025. That equates to an additional 448 whole-time equivalents, including 321 health and social care professionals. I am conscious of time.”
“Importantly, these legislative changes will not remove any existing rights for parents to apply for assessment of need on behalf of a child and nor will they alter the statutory six-month timeline set out in the Disability Act. The reforms are intended to build on the momentum already achieved, as reflected in the 43% increase in the number of completed applications in 2025 compared with 2024 and we need to continue that. The HSE has made real progress in reducing CDNT waiting lists, with preliminary figures indicating that the number of children awaiting an initial contact with the CDNT team has reduced from 16,522 in 2023 to 9,248 at the end of January this year.”
“In parallel, the Department is commencing work on the development of a dedicated respite services policy to help establish a robust and coherent framework to guide future expansion, investment and sustainability in respite services. Proving the assessment of need process is a priority for this Government and significant work is under way to deliver a range of both legislative and non-legislative reforms. As part of this work, the Department will shortly finalise the disability (amendment) Bill 2026, which will standardise and streamline key aspects of the assessment of need process. I thank Members who are involved in the disability matters committee, which I know has looked at this thoroughly through pre-legislative scrutiny.”
“As Senators will be aware, respite services are an incredibly important support for families. We know that the availability of respite can prevent carer burnout, provide opportunities to connect and socialise, and can help to delay or maybe even prevent a move to a full-time residential setting. There are currently a range of developments under way. The additional €25 million in new development funding provided for in this year's budget has enabled the HSE to plan for a significant expansion of respite services. A number of initiatives are under way, which are expected to deliver approximately 10,000 additional overnight respite sessions and 25,000 additional day respite sessions this year.”
“The purpose of these teams is to ensure that individuals are appropriately assessed in advance of placement in residential services and that placements are reviewed in a timely manner and with due regard to the duration of placement, quality of care, and evolving support needs. In parallel, HSE disability programme leads are developing a procurement framework for residential placements with for-profit providers. This framework will place a primary focus on the purchasing of placements on a group basis, with the objective of strengthening the HSE's capacity to negotiate more cost-effective and sustainable arrangements. The Department is also undertaking research and advancing policy development throughout 2026, with a view to establishing a new policy framework for specialist residential services.”
“Funding will also support new residents in existing placements that have become vacant and require enhancement and, in limited circumstances, placements in nursing home settings. It is equally important that our response is not limited to reacting to immediate pressures. For that reason, the 2026 national service plan signals a shift towards a more proactive and responsive model of service provision, including the development of 72 new planned residential placements. This year, with allocated funding in place, the HSE has commenced work to establish residential placement planning and review teams within each regional health area.”
“The Government, together with the HSE, recognises that demand for residential services is extremely high. That is an issue that has been particularly evident in recent weeks. Anybody working in their community will have come across this issue time and again. In response, the HSE is actively working with agencies to explore all feasible options to respond to this need in line with the funding available. Some €65 million has been allocated to disability residential services in 2026 for new developments. That includes €40 million to be provided for in the region of 199 residential responses, including 152 newly created residential placements, as outlined in the HSE's national services plan.”
“The additional funding includes a significant uplift of €478 million for the existing level of service provision, which will address sectoral funding pressures such as the increased cost of service provision, pay cost pressures, capacity limitations and service provider sustainability. In addition, €150 million is provided to fund service expansion in residential and respite services, day service provision, home support, personal assistance and children's services. It will also support continued strong recruitment of in the region of 1,000 staff. While I fully acknowledge that there is still much more to do across the sector, it is important that we recognise the progress that has been made. If I may, I would like to briefly touch on some of the key recent developments, alongside the policy areas, currently receiving attention this year.”
“This work is about further developing person-centred and individualised models of services and moving even closer towards a human-rights based vision of social care supports for disabled people, in line with our commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. Close collaboration with stakeholders across the sector will be crucial to this work and we expect to see tangible outcomes by the end of the year. In the programme for Government, we committed to a step change in disability service provision. To deliver on that, this year's budget saw a funding increase of €628 million over and above last year. That was an increase of almost 20%. It follows significant year-on-year funding increases in recent years, with an overall increase of €1.85 billion, or 91%, since 2020.”
“Progress is overseen through a dedicated monitoring and delivery committee, that, importantly, includes disabled persons' organisations, ensuring progress is tracked and helping them to keep us accountable. The Taoiseach chairs the Cabinet committee on disability and we have also got the new disability unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. All of this helps drive cross-government collaboration and ensure that the commitments set out in our national human rights strategy translate into real improvements in people's lives. Within my Department, a new team has been set up to develop a new vision and reform strategy for disability services out to 2030, and that will help to ensure that we deliver on our commitments set out in the programme for Government.”
“What feels different now is the growing acknowledgement that disability must be treated as a shared, cross-government responsibility because that is a more accurate reflection of how life actually works for us all. Last September, the Government launched its first national human rights strategy for disabled people as part of Ireland's commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which we ratified in 2018. That strategy sets out a five-year roadmap of how we will turn commitments into practical improvements that make a real difference in people's everyday lives. Delivery is supported through rolling action plans, updated every two years, which set out clear actions and responsibilities across Departments.”
“When you look at all of this together, what it shows is something very clear - disability is about people trying to live their lives, to belong, to contribute, to stay connected and to feel supported along the way - and what has become very clear is that disability cannot be addressed in silos, because people do not live in silos. A child does not experience education separately from transport, a disabled adult does not experience work separately from accessibility and a family carer does not experience health services separately from housing, income or community. Life arrives all at once and we need to be able to respond to that. For a long time, disability policy was approached through a narrow lens.”
“Disability shows up in ordinary life, often in ways that are small but deeply felt, whether it is the parent advocating, explaining and pushing, not for something extraordinary but simply for their child to be able to belong; the young person who wants independence and is bravely working out how to balance support with freedom; the person planning a journey, checking access, timing and reliability, and hoping it all comes together on the day; the carer juggling appointments, phone calls and forms while still trying to show up for work, for their family and for themselves; the person who wants to take part in their community, to maintain friendships and to feel truly included; the person who wants to work, contribute and be valued, and who knows that opportunity depends as much on flexibility and understanding as it often does on ability; or the family celebrating small wins that other families might overlook, such as a good day at school, a successful appointment or an accessible bus or train actually showing up on time.”
“For approximately 8% of the population or 407,000 people, these conditions have a significant impact on daily life. That is why it is so important that Government and public services work closely together.”
“I thank the Senators for the invitation to speak here today. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to outline my key priorities as Minister of State for disability. It is important, first and foremost, to recognise that supporting people with disabilities is a shared responsibility. It is one that extends across all of society and, most importantly, to every level of government, because disability is not abstract; it is lived every day. For many people, engaging with disability services is not a temporary thing, but often something that continues across childhood, adulthood and later life. Census 2022, the most recent census, highlighted the scale of these issues in everyday life, with over 22% of the population - approximately 1.1 million people - reporting a long-lasting condition or difficulty.”
“Rather, they live in communities, villages and towns around Ireland. That is why disability now sits at the heart of Government in the disability unit in the Department of the Taoiseach to drive progress for people with disabilities right across Ireland. We do that through cocreation and collaboration with people with disabilities under our national strategy for disabled people.”
“That is exactly why stability has never been as important as it is now here in Ireland - stability in government, stability in the economy and stability in our society. That is what Fine Gael in government has always provided, whether it was through Brexit, Covid or now, and we will continue to do that. As the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability, I work day in and day out with my senior Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, to support people with disabilities and their families. We have the largest ever budget for disability services and we are working hand in hand to transform that into improved outcomes for people. Disability is our top priority but it also needs to be a priority for every Minister across Government because people do not live in Government Departments or silos.”
“As I stand here, I am really conscious of the pressures people are under. At petrol stations, people are paying more and more for their fill. At supermarket tills, people are paying more and more for groceries. The cost of living is rising and the cost of doing business is rising. That is why the Government has acted with the largest support package in the EU. For those with disabilities and their families, there is an extra layer of cost, namely, the cost of disability. That is why the Minister, Deputy Dara Calleary, is developing a framework for a specific cost-of-disability payment. What people are feeling in their pockets, at the forecourts and at supermarket tills is a direct result of geopolitical instability.”