Self-advocates challenge the starting point
Independent Living Movement Ireland gathered members’ views in two discussion sessions in October 2023. Its November summary said disabled people should have helped develop the proposals from the start. Participants feared that placing people in three support tiers would bring stigma and assessments based on outdated ideas about incapacity.
Personal assistance is part of access to work
ILMI participants identified inaccessible transport, buildings and jobs, alongside insufficient personal assistance services, as barriers to employment. They wanted reform to address disability-related costs and argued that income-support reform should be considered separately from the support people needed to take up work. [2]
Withdrawal leaves further reform open
The department said consultation submissions would still inform future changes. In May 2024, the Disability Federation of Ireland welcomed the decision not to proceed while pressing for action on poverty and employment. It urged a rights-based approach grounded in the UN disability convention, drawing on feedback from disabled people and member organisations. [1]