Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism
Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed)
Ms Lisa Marie Clinton:
Exactly. There is awareness and I see there is a movement towards that. There is that high-level document to support individuals in social protection to understand the grant but one thing that was mentioned in the report was that staff members may not be aware of the grant and it may not be utilised. We can see it is under-utilised. Training for staff members is important. Again, the employer has to pay upfront for this funding and then get reimbursed so that could be a difficulty. Three quotes are needed over a certain amount. If there are not three different programmes that are similar, it might be difficult to source three quotes. The main issue is that the person with a disability is being asked to make the application, or the employer, who may already be making a number of accommodations and is now being asked to sit down, complete this form and pay upfront for something to then be reimbursed at some point, in order for this person to be successful.