Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I can tell the Deputy what we are spending and will get the number of participants for him. This year we expect to spend €10.85 million. That is an increase of approximately €284,000 on last year. The overall expenditure on the supported employment service has gone up again from €8.104 million to what we anticipate spending this year, a further €8.8 million, which represents an increase of approximately 9.1%. We hope to build up the service on partial capacity benefit claims. There are more than 1,000 of these claims in payment, 866 of which are in respect of a moderate level of disability, 147 in respect of a severe level of disability and 13 in respect of a profound level of disability. Everybody would agree that we should try to expand this area. It is a priority for me as Minister to improve opportunities because if it is hard for somebody who is able-bodied to get a job at the moment, full- or part-time, it is even tougher for people with disabilities, and particularly for young people with disabilities. My colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for people with disabilities, has done a great deal of work in this area. We hope at the Department of Social Protection to expand these services as well as income support as we go along.