An advocate has said that the disabled community are sacrificing everything in order to survive as inflation spikes.
Kayleigh McKevitt is a fulltime wheelchair user and lives temporarily in accommodation supplied by the Irish Wheelchair Association. She participated in a recent protest organised by the Cost of Living Coalition, which demanded that the government reinstate the eviction ban with immediate effect.
She said that a balancing act is currently in place as disabled people attempt to live off the allocated weekly allowance of €220. She called on the government to increase the rate amid mounting financial pressures.
READ MORE: Dublin accounts for almost half of eviction notices set to kick in with lifting of ban
Kayleigh told Dublin Live: "They need to increase it a little bit so people can comfortably live without having to sacrifice so much to survive. It’s hard to balance everything like bills and groceries, alongside living a bit of a life."
The Irish Wheelchair Association's housing complex is located in Dublin 3. Kayleigh is living there on a transitional basis but is hopeful that she can be moved closer to her family as she wants her support network around her.
She said that disabled people face further challenges during the housing crisis as it can be difficult to get accessible housing. Kayleigh is a member of advocacy group Access For All, which sheds a light on the realities facing the disabled community.
She added: "If we don’t start speaking up, nothing is going to change. We want to get people aware of what others from different walks of life are experiencing."
Access For All will likely hold further demonstrations in the near future as the strain of the cost of living crisis escalates. Thousands turned up to Saturday's demonstration against the eviction ban, which saw figures such as Richard Boyd Barrett describe attitudes towards housing as "shameful."
READ MORE
- Cost of living Ireland: Thousands of workers can claim over €200 cash boost per week on top of wages
- Cost of living Ireland: Protestors take to the streets as eviction ban ends
- Latest homeless figures 'serve as a wake-up call to the zombie government'
- Cost of living Ireland: Special needs assistants 'living in fear' amid housing and inflation crisis
- Cost of living: Protestor personally affected by eviction ban speaks out
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