Ireland’s disability allowance is a means-tested welfare payment made to qualified residents between the age 16-65 (the payments switches to a pension on the 66th birthday) — see here for rules — and the number of people paid the allowance has risen from 110,000 in 2006 to 154,000 in 2014 — a jump of 40%. However, at 5% of the working age population in 2014, Ireland’s rate is lower than several other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) developed countries.