Cheshire Ireland Pre-Budget Submission 2027
Cheshire Ireland is calling for the Government to address the major issues of inadequate funding to run services to the highest levels and standards.
Impacts of Auto-Enrolment
The Auto-Enrolment (AE) scheme requires Section 39 organisations to make employer pension contributions starting at 1.5%, rising to 6% over a decade.
Increased Unfunded Costs
Section 39 organisations are responsible for matching employee contributions to the AE scheme. These recurring additional costs are unfunded and add pressure to already strained budgets, creating risk of greater deficits and increasing cash flow management challenges
Employer contributions are not refunded if an employee opts-out after 6 months (unlike employee contributions).
Increased Operational Burden
Section 39 organisations must manage enrolment, payroll deductions, compliance and communications. This is an increased demand on already stretched resources.
Risk to Service Provision
The additional unfunded costs could lead to reduced services or service curtailment if the HSE does not fully fund these mandatory contributions
Appropriate Funding for Housing as an AHB
Inadequate Funding for Housing Provision:
In addition to our disability support services, Cheshire Ireland is also an Approved Housing Body, providing housing to people with disabilities. Increasing costs are making it extremely difficult for Cheshire Ireland to maintain our properties where we have increased expense for safety standards and HIQA Regulation. This results in additional pressure on the deficits we carry each year.
National Housing strategy for disabled people 2022-2027
The vision for the strategy is “To facilitate disabled people to live independently with the appropriate choice and control over where, how and with whom they live, promoting their inclusion in the community.
To meaningfully address this strategy, future housing delivery must be more determined to increase the number of housing units for people with disabilities nationally and to commit to the delivery of a percentage of Universally designed homes.
Transport
Cheshire Ireland spent approx. 350k (Fuel, Repairs and replacements) on transport in 2025 to support people with disabilities to access essential services, social participation, and everyday activities.
We currently operate a fleet of 24 vehicles, all of which are required to be wheelchair accessible. This includes a mix of vehicles ranging from single seater cars to large 4 seater vans equipped with wheelchair access and hoists. Our fleet is ageing, with an average vehicle age of 12 years, resulting in increasing maintenance costs, reliability issues, and health and safety risks.
Critically, Cheshire Ireland receives no dedicated funding for transport through the HSE SLA or individual agency budgets.
The full cost is absorbed by the organisation, creating a significant and ongoing financial stressor. This funding gap prevents timely replacement of vehicles and investment in a modern fleet, including electric or low emission vehicles. Such investment would deliver environmental benefits, improved comfort and accessibility for the people we support, enhanced staff safety, better roadworthiness, and reduced long term maintenance costs.
Sustainability – Financial IT Support/Cyber Security
The long-term sustainability of IT support and cyber security for all businesses, including Cheshire Ireland as a charity, hinges on moving beyond reactive and resource model to a more resilient, efficient, and adaptive frameworks.
This requires availability of funding to ensure a balanced approach through extending hardware lifecycles, responsible maintenance and upgrades, optimising cloud resource and embedding a culture of safety first.
Cyber security is becoming a more discussed topic, especially around the changing AI landscape.
Robust architecture needs to be in place that will minimise risk of data breach, with an added requirement to adhere to GDPR legislation. In addition, proactive IT talent is required to not only ensure security, support and compliance in Cheshire Ireland but also build operational endurance that protects both Cheshire Ireland digital resilience and service delivery over the long term.
The government therefore needs to provide IT and Cyber Security funding and initiatives to organisation that provide vital services in the Charitable environment.
Website: www.cheshire.ie
Reg Charity No: CHY 5484 Charities Regulator No: 20008321
