Protesters outside Leinster House calling on the Government for immediate emergency winter payment for people with disabilities. Photograph: Enda O'DowdDisabled people are “living in one room or going to local libraries to stay warm”, a protest outside Leinster House heard on Tuesday. The coalition called for an “immediate emergency winter payment” for disabled people and the introduction of a permanent cost-of-disability payment next year. Joan Carthy, a wheelchair-user and IWA advocacy manager, could not understand why the Government “doesn’t get the urgency of the call for the winter payment”. Last year’s payments “actually made a difference to people’s lives”, she said, adding that some disabled people are “living in one room or going to local libraries to stay warm”.

Source: The Irish Times December 09, 2025 20:06 UTC