SteeringWheelWinter2022 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 10
Judge by ability, not disability
DDAI welcomes the publication of The
Cost of Disability in Ireland Report
The DDAI is welcoming the publication
of the Cost of Disability in Ireland Report
by Indecon, but is calling for immediate
action by Government to address the
significant costs outlined for people with
disabilities.
without a disability. For instance, 41% of respondents
said they pay a higher price for private transport
costs including costs of running an adapted vehicle.
Having access to personal transport allows a person
with a disability fully participate in society and is their
lifeline towards independence, further education and
job prospects. This is against the backdrop of Ireland
having one of the highest rates of unemployment
amongst disabled persons in Europe”.
One of the key conclusions of the report was ‘there
are significant additional costs faced by individuals
with a disability which are currently not met by
existing programmes or by social welfare payments.
The analysis shows that the actual costs faced by
individuals with severe disabilities on average range
from €9,600 - €12,300 per annum and for those with
limited disabilities from €8,700 - €10,000 per annum’.
The lengthy report highlights that households spend,
on average, an additional €9,027 on costs of items
specifically related to disability, special versions of
products, and transport and mobility.
The DDAI are calling on Government to provide more
support for people with disabilities to obtain their
own transport and to replace the Mobility Allowance
and Motorised Transport Grant which was suspended
indefinitely in 2013. Additionally, the Disabled Drivers
& Passengers Tax Relief Scheme which is currently
under review by a working group, under the National
Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 needs to be
completed in a timely manner and a more needsbased approach to be taken when accessing a
person’s qualifying criteria.
Kenneth Fox, CEO of DDAI said “ this report clearly
shows that people with disabilities in Ireland pay a
higher price for daily living expenses than people
Actions speak louder than words and the findings in
this report need to be acted upon sooner rather than
later.
KIA announce support for DDAI
As part of KIA Irelands on-going commitment to the Irish mobility market, they
have supplied the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland with a new KIA Sportage.
Pictured at the handover (L/R) Cathal Kealey, Head of Marketing & PR, KIA Ireland and
Richard Ryder, Marketing & Communications Manager, Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland.
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