Labour and Fine Gael have reacted strongly to the news thousands of carers for severely disabled children may miss out on payments under new Department of Health cutbacks.
It has emerged the Department has decided to stop backdating payments of the Domicillary Care Allowance (DCA) to parents of severely disabled children.
The allowance of €179.80 per month is administered by local health boards. It had previously been payable from the time a child was diagnosed as being eligible but will now be paid from the time the application for the grant is made.
To qualify, the child must be under 16, live at home, have a severe disability that is likely to last for at least one year and need substantially more care than a child who does not have a disability.
The decision was made following a recommendation from a working group set up by the Minister under his policy of reforming the health service. However, Mr Martin said he was unaware of the decision and promised to investigate immediately.
Ms Jan O'Sullivan, Labour's equality and law reform spokeswoman, called on Mr Martin to reverse the "disgraceful and sinister" decision immediately.
"Thousands of the most vulnerable people in our society, many of them with severe disabilities, are being forced to suffer the consequences of cutbacks on public spending at a time when ministerial advisers are receiving astronomical wage increases," she said.
She said the situation proves Ministers "cannot keep up with the avalanche of cutbacks that are being introduced every day".
Fine Gael's health spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Michell, said the decision was a "new low" in Government policy.
"It would be hard to envisage a more mean-spirited cutback," she said. "That a Minister should set out to exploit this vulnerability speaks volumes on this Government's attitude to the disabled.