Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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In her opening statement Ms Leonard said 3,000 people were supported by the EmployAbility service and that the wage subsidy was paid to 916 people. We know that last year more than 100,000 were in receipt of disability allowance. That shows the scale of the challenge faced by the Department in capturing the people concerned. I note what was said about the partial capacity scheme and some of the changes suggested. Is the Department considering other ways to promote and expand these two schemes? From my limited knowledge of them, they seems to be working well. Some employers do not seem to be aware of the partial capacity scheme, or do not seem to be taking up the opportunities it presents. Is that because they are not aware of the scheme or are they discouraged by the bureaucracy associated with it? What is the waiting time under the scheme? In many schemes there is a delay between the application and the sign-off, but an employer wants an employee in place as quickly as possible. How is the scheme working and how quick is the turnover?

Various other grants are available to individuals and employers. Work equipment adaptations can be made, for example, to ensure someone can be made to feel a full member of staff. Sometimes the cost of getting to work can be onerous for a person with a severe disability. Are employers aware of grants to adapt workplaces and equipment? What is the delay between the application for such a grant and its delivery?

Last year the Minister's proposals regarding disability allowance were shelved and the disability allowance scheme was reviewed. Has this impacted on the work of the Department? Has there been an increase in the numbers applying to participate in schemes to help them to move from disability allowance into the workforce? It is not always for monetary gain that people move from dependency on disability payment into the workforce. Often it has to do with inclusion. Community employment schemes have helped in many ways in this regard. Public representatives have been hearing that the changes the Minister made to the community employment scheme and what was termed the double payment have discouraged people with disabilities from taking up opportunities which would have left them job-ready at the conclusion of the scheme. For an employer or a person with a disability to avail of the two schemes, the delegate mentioned that the employee must be job-ready. The severity of a disability can exclude a person from the workforce and in need of time in a scheme targeted at addressing that exclusion.

We have had some discussion on the exclusion of self-employed persons from the PRSI system. I do not doubt this is a complex area, but I have heard of strange cases from people who came to my clinic. Some taxi drivers who are managing to survive on very low earnings have been able to avail of payments, while others have been told they must give up their PSV licence in order to qualify for jobseeker's allowance. Some are being obliged to exit the taxi industry completely. Some PSV licence holders, while not working as taxi drivers, have been told they must surrender their licence, although this is their only access to the workforce. This is a complex area and needs to be looked at in detail.

The KPMG report on pensions suggests an employer's contribution rate of 17.3%. The Class A contribution which covers the majority of employees consists of a combined employee and employer contribution rate of 14.75%. Will the officials explain the reason for the difference?

Self-employed persons often have irregular incomes. There may be periods during which they have a reduced income or no income at all. The current system is based on days worked. The committee recently had a discussion on casual work during which we spoke about changing the social welfare code from days worked to hours worked.

How difficult would that be in terms of extending the social welfare system to the self-employed, who often work longer hours than PAYE workers? There is also the issue of extending FIS to the self-employed.