Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I know the Deputy feels very strongly about this issue. I have been around the country and I have seen excellent services being provided by the Department of Social Protection.

I recently visited the EmployAbility programme in Galway, which is successful in helping people with disabilities into work. The partial capacity scheme, which was introduced by the Tánaiste, assists people to take up employment where they are not in a position to go back to full-time work. We are not waiting for the final report as we have the ten Intreo offices providing support and services to people with disabilities. Over the coming months, I look forward to the cross-departmental report and to implementing the measures within it. For people who find themselves unemployed, not just those with disabilities, it is important that no one is left behind unlike what happened in the 1990s and 2000s, where we had significant numbers of jobless households where no one worked. I look forward to working with the Deputy on that point. This includes people who are long-term unemployed and those with disabilities, who want to contribute. We will do everything we can to assist them in making a contribution to society.

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