Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am absolutely committed to helping people with a disability to get back into work. An employer employing a person with a disability for 39 hours per week will receive a payment from the State of €12,776 per annum. This is a significant incentive for employers to offer employment opportunities to people with disabilities. It had been my intention to do a jobs roadshow to network employers and people looking for work while trying to promote this process. It can be a win-win scenario for employers and people with disabilities if they can be brought into the workplace. It is so important as it takes people out of poverty and gives them dignity. That is what we want to do. Most important, we want to empower them to get out there and meet people socially through work, etc. There is a good deal of support for that process.

The Deputy asked why people in the public sector do not get a grant to adapt a workplace that is available to those in the private sector. We expect the public sector to show leadership in this and we cannot really have one arm of the State subsidising another. One would expect Departments and public bodies to show leadership in that regard.

The Deputy asked about people in receipt of the disablement benefit and the fuel allowance. I take it that the point has been raised with me before but I will revert to the Deputy about it.

The Deputy asked how many carers will benefit from the budgetary changes. The number is approximately 8,000. Those people will need to revise their claim in the coming weeks, given the expanded criteria within which they can apply for the payment. I encourage anybody who was turned down because the application was outside the limits to submit another application. We hope people will do that.

I have received a note on the disablement benefit. The disablement benefit depends on the degree of the person's disablement, which is medically assessed. If the person's disability is assessed at under 20%, that person will receive disablement benefit in a lump sum, with the amount depending on the degree of disability and how long it is expected to last. The maximum is €16,720. If the person's disability is assessed at above 20%, the payment is between a minimum of €47.80 per week and a maximum of €239 per week, depending on the degree of disability. People on disablement benefit might also qualify for incapacity supplement, constant attendance allowance or medical care. They do not get the fuel allowance currently but we keep all these matters under review. This has been raised with me before and there are not that many people on disablement benefit when we consider the supports out there for social welfare.