Ms Anne Marie McDonnell:

Good morning. I am head of business development and service design innovation with Rehab Group. I am joined by my colleague Mr. Adrian Stewart, head of employability. We both have had long careers working in education and training and in supporting people with disabilities to progress to employment. We are also joined online by our colleague Mr. Padraig Hannafin, who is public affairs research assistant and will bring the lens of the lived experience to discussions today.

It is a great privilege to address the committee and I commend members on their work highlighting the many issues affecting people who are disabled in the workforce in Ireland. Rehab Group provides services for more than 10,000 adults and children in communities throughout Ireland. We support people to live the lives they choose by providing care, education, training and pathways to meaningful employment opportunities. Rehab Group has three distinct divisions, namely, Rehab Enterprises, RehabCare and National Learning Network. Rehab Enterprises is a private company and a separate legal entity from Rehab Group, which works with a range of public and private sector partners in providing dynamic business solutions. RehabCare delivers health and social care services that reach into communities the length and breadth of Ireland, providing resource centres, residential and respite care, supported accommodation, outreach and home-based services. Through our learning division, National Learning Network, we deliver personalised education, training, and development opportunities for people with disabilities and those who require additional supports in planning their next steps, whether in their health and well-being journey, getting qualifications, honing and developing skills or progressing with further education, higher education and pathways to employment. National Learning Network receives funding from the 16 education and training boards, ETBs, and the HSE.

Since 2019, National Learning Network has worked in partnership with the HSE and supported hundreds of people with complex and enduring mental health conditions to secure competitive employment. This service is called individual placement and support, IPS. It is an evidence-based model of supported employment, focusing on the concept "place and train" which has been shown to be effective in Ireland and in countries across the world. IPS is unique in bringing mental health professionals and employment specialists together to collaborate. Supported employment is integrated with mental health treatment and is time-unlimited. Since 2019, 616 people who participated in IPS have secured competitive employment. Between 2017 and 2022, more than 2,400 people with disabilities got jobs through National Learning Network, through our bridging and transition services funded by the HSE and through specialist vocational training funded by the ETBs.

Supporting 2,400 people would not be possible without the great support of business communities in all areas ranging from micro-companies to multinationals. The business community has shown its generosity by providing time and expertise and helping people to learn about an occupation, job shadow, develop skills and have equitable opportunities. More than 650 employers are currently working with us. This month, one of our employers received an advancing disability equality award from the National Centre of Diversity. Mr. Price received that award for showing a case study of his company's work with the Rehab Group and in particular with National Learning Network, in placing almost 100 people in employment around its 60 stores. In respecting the business community, we must also work to build its members' capacity. One of our capacity-building inputs is the use of complementary online training on inclusive recruitment and retention practices. We developed this with AsIAm, WALK and Not so Different, with funding from the National Disability Authority.

Today is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talents disabled people bring to the workforce but also to highlight some challenges. We will focus on the key areas of the wage subsidy scheme, return to work after the onset of disability, supported employment and quotas. We recommend the current threshold of 21 weeks in the wage subsidy scheme, WSS, should be lowered to eight weeks. High weekly hours discriminate against certain people and profiles. Eight hours of work per week is deemed an employment outcome for employability companies. We also recommend shortening the initial contract of employment limit to avail of the WSS to a minimum of three months. We recommend that strand 3 should not be paid pro rataonly for multiples of 25 employees. We recommend the WSS keeps pace and continues to stay in line with the national minimum wage. In looking at the WSS, we draw the committee's attention to the employee retention scheme. These two schemes are different and we recommend that the WSS should apply to all employees regardless of employment duration to provide an ongoing incentive for the employer to retain people in employment, especially when their productivity is decreasing due to the onset of disability. This leads us to the issue of returning to work after people have an onset of disability while in work. We recommend an increase in employer incentives to promote the return to work.

In the ongoing discussions on the introduction of statutory sick pay, the Government could aim for an all-encompassing system that covers health conditions and all types of employment to realise significant gains for workers and the Irish population. We would also ask that consideration is given to vocational rehabilitation services to help restore and develop the skills and capabilities of employed persons with disabilities so that they can continue to participate in the general workforce.

The national EmployAbility service, funded by the Department of Social Protection, currently provides services for 3,000 people and is planned to go out for public tender. It is a great opportunity, but there is one area we wish to highlight. The current staff to service user ratio is 1:25, which is very high when consideration is being given to introducing people with more severe and enduring needs. There is a requirement to acknowledge and recognise the need for ongoing support for some people with disabilities beyond the current cap of 18 months. Circling back to individual placement and support, IPS, it should be scaled up for people with mental health conditions throughout the country and the sustainability of such programmes should be ensured through long-term planning and funding.

Once again recognising the amazing work of disability-inclusive employers, we would advocate for a public awareness campaign on the grants and subsidies that are available. From our experience of working with employers, we have found there is not a huge awareness of the grants and supports that are out there.

On quotas, we ask that in respect of the public sector there is a recommendation for specialist panels within the Civil Service and broader public service to provide accessible pathways for people with disabilities. Given the relatively low number of people with disabilities employed in the private sector and the relative success of some quota schemes throughout other EU countries, we ask that we open a discussion and debate on the introduction of a quota scheme for the employment of people with disabilities tailored to the Irish labour market and which would bring a renewed focus on the unemployment crisis. The scheme could be phased out when targets are met and we are fulfilling our obligations.

In conclusion, before I pass over to Mr. Hannafin, while Ireland can be rightly proud of the many developments and good work that continues to support people with disabilities, there is a need to bring about a renewed energy and focus. We now have a possibility, post Covid, along with technological advances, to fully embrace new ways of working and build on our past experiences. It is now time to address this critical human rights issue and hold our heads high, along with our European counterparts. I would like to introduce Mr. Hannafin on behalf of Rehab.