793. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for social protection payments for disabled people and providing supports for all those who meet the criteria. [65830/26]

Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means-tested social assistance payments paid by my Department. At present, almost 177,800 people are in receipt of these schemes, with estimated expenditure of €2.58 billion in 2026.

The estimated cost of abolishing the means test for these payments and extending eligibility to all persons who meet the medical and other criteria, regardless of income or assets, is not available. However, extending income support on a non-means-tested basis to a population which is potentially significantly larger would require very substantial additional expenditure and would raise important questions regarding affordability and long-term sustainability.

Over the last five budgets the Government has progressively improved payment rates and income disregards for disabled people. The weekly payment rates for Disability Allowance and Blind Pension have increased by €51 in that time. The earnings disregard has increased by almost 38% since Budget 2021 from €120 to €165 currently.

This enables those in receipt of Disability Allowance and Blind Pension to earn more without having a negative impact on their means tested payment. This means that people can earn up to €165 per week and keep their payment in full and can earn up to €527.60 per week and keep a portion of their payment.

The means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, property – other than the family home – and capital. Disability Allowance has one of the highest capital disregards operated by the Department of Social Protection. A recipient can have up to €50,000 in savings and still receive the full rate of payment. This compares with €20,000 for most social welfare payments.

Applying a means-test ensures that the recipient has an income need and that scarce resources are targeted to those with the greatest need. This approach supports an economically sustainable and socially equitable allocation of scarce resources.

Both the Programme for Government and the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People commitments to reform the Disability Allowance Payment and remove anomalies in the current means test. My Department is currently reviewing means testing across all our social assistance schemes. The outcome of this review will be used to inform decisions regarding any further changes to means testing.

Any changes to means testing arrangements can only be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.

I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.