2,000 disabled people to lose €6,500 a year

AT least 2,000 people with disabilities will lose €6,500 a year because of measures introduced in Budget 2009, according to Fine Gael who said this was more confirmation that the most vulnerable have been targeted.

The Disability Allowance, which was previously paid to eligible people from the age of 16, will be paid only to those who have reached the age of 18 from January 2009. The allowance is worth €197 a week and the Government will save €14 million a year by taking it from 16-and 17-year-olds.

Fine Gael said the savings are tiny and represent just 0.07% of the entire Social Welfare budget for next year. The party’s spokesperson on disability issues, David Stanton, said: “This shows the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable have been targeted by Fianna Fáil’s vicious, cruel budget.”