Disability in Ireland - Factsheet 2024

Issued on January 26 2024

Disability in Ireland - Factsheet 2024

Disability in Ireland Factsheet 2024 

This factsheet outlines key demographic statistics on disability in Ireland. While education levels are improving for disabled people, disability continues to increase a person’s risk of poverty, reduces employment opportunities and results in poorer health outcomes. The factsheet also sign-posts the original data source for further reading.  

One in five people report having a disability 

The number of people who have a disability or disabling condition is increasing. In Census 2022 1,109,557 people (22% of the population) reported having a long-lasting condition/difficulty or disability to any extent 1, compared to 2016 2, when 643,131 people indicated that they had a disability. 3  

Of the current 22% of the population:  

  • 8% report experiencing at least one long-lasting condition/ difficulty ‘to a great extent’ or a lot. 
  • 14% report experiencing at least one long-lasting condition/ difficulty ‘to some extent’ or a little. 4
  • The proportion of people experiencing a long-lasting condition or difficulty increases exponentially with age: 
  • 4% of people aged 0 – 4 years. 
  • 76% of people aged 85+ years. 5
  • 70% of people with a disability aged 20-64 acquired their disability after the age of 16 years. 6

Income and Poverty 

Among people unable to work due to a long-standing health problem (disability):  

  • 2 in 5 are at risk of poverty. 
  • 1 in 5 live in consistent poverty. 
  • 1 in 2 (44.3%) live in deprivation. 7

The additional cost of living with a disability is well documented. It was estimated, in a report published by the Department of Social Protection in 2021, to be between €8,700 - €12,300 a year. 8 This estimate of the extra Cost of Disability predates the recent high levels of inflation (19.3% from 2021-23 according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator) 9. As a result this estimate has likely increased to a range of €10,379 – €14,673. 

Health 

  • 25% of disabled people report that their health status is ‘Bad or Very Bad’ compared to the State average of 4%.10 
  • 43% of disabled people aged over 15 years report some level of depression, well above the State average of 14%.11 
  • The standardised mortality rate for persons with disabilities is 4.1 times higher than that of people without disabilities.12 

Employment 

Ireland ranks the lowest of the EU for: 

Disability employment rate: 

  • 32.6%, almost 20% below the EU average of 51.3%.  

Disability employment gap:  

  • 38.6%, significantly higher than the EU average of 24.4%. 
  • The disability employment gap for women is 45%.13 

Education 

  • 14.4% of disabled people over 15 who have ceased their education only completed primary level education, compared to 7.4% of the general population. 14 
  • The figures in education are improving however. In 2020/2021, 12.4% of new entrants to higher education were students with disabilities, compared to 5.4% of new entrants in 2011/2012. 15 
  • The number of students in higher education registered with disability support services has increased by 273% since 2008/2009. 16

Housing 

Disability is the main category of need for 9.5% of all households on the social housing waiting list (5,521 households). 17

From 2016 to 2020, the number of people on the general social housing list reduced by almost a third, while the number of people with a disability basis of need on the waiting list reduced by significantly less (12%). 18 

References: 

1 CSO (2023) Census of Population 2022  

2 Note: In Census 2022, the two questions on ‘long-lasting conditions and difficulties’ were revised. The information reported was compiled from a range of categories in the questions relating to ‘long-lasting conditions and difficulties’ and the ‘extent to which they were experienced’. The difficulties ‘included those experienced due to old age’. In Census 2016, a disabled person was classified as someone who responded 'yes' to any of several categories across two questions on long-lasting conditions and difficulties.  

3 CSO (2017) Census of Population 2016  

4 CSO (2023) Census of Population 2022  

5 ibid 

6  National Disability Authority (2019) Retaining people with a disability in the workforce  

7 CSO (2023) Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2022  

8 Indecon (2021) The Cost of Disability in Ireland (pg. 135)  

9 CSO CPI Inflation Calculator https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/cpicalculator  

10 CSO (2022) Irish Health Survey 2019 – Persons with Disabilities  

11 ibid 

12 National Disability Authority (2021) Overview of UNCRPD Article 25 in Ireland (pg.6)  

13 European Disability Forum (2023) European Human Rights Report Issue 7 (pg.30-32, 35) 

14 CSO (2023) Census of Population 2022 

15 Higher Education Authority (2022) National Access Plan: A Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education 2022-2028 

16 AHEAD, Students with Disabilities Engaged with Support Services in Ireland 2021/22   

17 The Housing Agency (2023) Summary of Social Housing Assessments 2022 (pg.30) 

18 The Housing Agency (2021) Analysis of Households with a Disability Basis of Need for Social Housing 2015-2020 (pg.5)  

ENDS 

Updated: 26 January 2024