Mr. Liam Walsh:

Deputy O'Dea mentioned statistics for the numbers of people with disabilities in the workforce. We would not necessarily have the full picture because some people with disabilities in the workforce would not necessarily be claiming a social welfare payment. It is probably small but we do not have the full picture. The three main schemes are as follows: the disability allowance scheme with 103,000 people; illness benefit with 69,000; and invalidity pension with 49,000. Approximately 6,000 people on disability allowance are availing of the earnings disregard in addition to those on partial capacity benefit as mentioned in our presentation and those on the supported employment programme. That would be our picture of the numbers of people with disabilities in the workforce who are involved in the social welfare system. We would accept the figure is still quite low.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh asked about making employers more aware of the supported employment programme. We only took over the schemes formerly managed by FÁS such as the FÁS supported employment programme earlier in the year. We now have an opportunity to get an overall handle on what is happening with regard to supports for people with disabilities in the workforce. We now have the whole picture, so to speak. We have the income support schemes and these programmes. It would be our intention to investigate what opportunities present themselves such as making employers more aware, which ties in with the disability activation project Ms Leonard mentioned. One of the strands of those projects will be the area of engaging with employers and raising their awareness about the opportunities that might exist for people with disabilities to be employed.