People living with a disability face extreme financial burdens, with households spending more than half of their disposable income on disability-related costs, according to a new report.
The study, conducted by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), reveals that households with a disabled member experience “significant” financial pressures and have a “very high” risk of poverty.
The report highlights a “double economic penalty” affecting disabled people – lower average disposable income combined with higher consumption costs due to their specific needs.
On average, households with a disabled member need to spend up to 59% of their disposable income to achieve the same standard of living as similar households without disabled members. With the average weekly household disposable income for disabled households at €944, this translates to disability costs between €488-€555 per week.
For households with a member who has severe limitations, the situation is even more dire, with disability costs reaching as high as 93% of their disposable income – approximately €875 weekly.
According to The Journal, the risk of poverty rate for disabled people stands at 24%, compared to 10% for non-disabled people. However, when accounting for the average estimated cost of disability deducted from disposable income, this rate skyrockets to between 65%-76% for households affected by disability.
Chief Commissioner of the IHREC, Liam Herrick, stated: “It is unacceptable that disabled people live at a much higher risk of poverty in Ireland.”
The report follows TheJournal.ie’s recent coverage of experiences of families with children who have additional needs. Many parents expressed heartbreak and frustration over long waiting lists for public services, forcing them to pay for private therapies and assessments.
Parents reported paying €80-100 weekly or fortnightly for speech and language therapy, and €100-150 per session for occupational therapy, amounting to thousands of euro over time.
A spokesperson from the Department of Disability acknowledged that costs vary based on factors including age and severity of disability, adding that the government is working on the next National Disability Strategy to address these issues.
Theano Kakoulidou of the ESRI and co-author of the report suggested potential solutions: “One way to address the higher rates of income poverty among disabled people is by removing barriers to work that they and their family members face. Income poverty could also be reduced by directly increasing targeted welfare payments or introducing a ‘cost of disability’ payment.”