LAST YEAR, THE government attempted to make Disability Allowance (DA) a tiered system but their efforts were met with outrage from disabled activists and their proposal was scrapped.

I was proud to see the disabled community coming together to stand up to this colossal injustice, and I was surprised that the government listened to us for a change and rolled back their idea.

Since then, there has been no mention of what the government intends to do next.

I was lulled into a false sense of security, thinking nothing significant would happen to my payment. I learned I was wrong this week when I received a letter informing me that my husband and I are slightly over the income threshold, so my DA will be stopped.

An unfair system

The current DA rate is €244 per week, after a measly €12 increase in Budget 2025. Like many other social welfare payments, DA is a means-tested payment. The more income you earn, the less you receive, and above a certain level of income, you earn nothing.

Under the current system, all earnings over €375 subject the recipient to reductions or the denial of DA.

My husband and I knew this day was coming. Before we decided to get married in 2023, we learned that I wouldn’t be viewed as an independent individual in the eyes of the Department of Social Protection (DSP), they’d also consider my husband’s income during means tests.

Because of my disability, I can only work part-time, and my husband is a junior civil servant, so we’re not exactly raking in the big bucks. Nevertheless, the DSP has made the decision to cease my DA.

The restrictive system often crops up as a news story. I recently read about Eoghan Gorman, a disabled man who has been denied DA because his partner earns above the weekly threshold.

Gorman shared his fear of being completely financially reliant on his partner, robbed of any sense of financial independence.

Sadly, experiences like mine and Gorman’s are all too common.

Scrap means testing

After I posted about this on social media this week, I was inundated with replies from other disabled people who lost their DA for a variety of frivolous reasons.

One man told me that despite being a full-time wheelchair user, he lost his Allowance and free travel pass because he works. “So, I seem to be cured”, he joked, playing into the stereotype of ‘if you’re able to work, you surely can’t be too disabled’.

One Twitter/X user rather unsympathetically said that means tests have to have a cut-off point, and that’s just the reality of it. Another asked, mockingly, if I’m proposing the end to means testing entirely.

And my answer to all of these may seem controversial to some; That is absolutely what I’m advocating for. Means testing has to be abolished.

Earlier this year, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) published ‘Adjusting Estimates of Poverty for the Cost of Disability’, a study describing the economic impact of disability on households.

According to the study, the cost of disability takes up 52%-59% of the incomes of people with disabilities. For those with a severe disability, that figure is 83%-93%.

Losing my DA is going to be a huge blow to my finances. The study also reported that disabled people face a higher at-risk-of-poverty (AROP) rate than non-disabled people.

Considering this, I believe DA should not be viewed as an out-of-work benefit. It is not adequate.

According to Social Justice Ireland, €318.53 is the weekly poverty line for a single adult in Ireland, so I can’t imagine any scenario in which a disabled person could live on just €244 per week.

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It’s impossible to afford rent, bills, food and disability-related costs on just €244 per week, but we are also punished for getting employment to be able to finance our needs. It’s dizzying to think about.

Looking ahead to Budget 2026

Maybe it’s naive of me to keep holding out hope that the government will decide to do a complete U-turn and scrap the means testing. But why not? 

I was disappointed to see no mention of scrapping the means test in the Programme for Government, but I welcomed the government’s intention to review the means test for Carers Allowance (CA). CA is just another restrictive payment system that negatively impacts the lives of disabled people and their families. Urgent change is needed here, too.

A few disabled advocacy organisations have released their pre-Budget submissions, detailing what they want to see in Budget 2026 later this year. The Disability Federation Ireland (DFI) pre-Budget submission says if means-testing must happen, only the disabled person’s income should be assessed — not that of their family member, partner, or anyone else they live with.

In their pre-Budget Submission, the Irish Wheelchair Association called on the government to take action and increase the rate of DA to tackle the above-average level of poverty that disabled people face.

Disabled people are suffering. We need more than just another €12 increase in the Budget.

The restrictive DA system urgently needs to be changed. The evidence is there to show the exorbitant cost of disability and that most disabled people are living in poverty. What else does the government need to see to make it take action?

Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird is a disability advocate, activist and journalist. You can follow her on X at @niamhnih.