Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Dea for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity, on behalf of the Department, to outline the position. The Deputy's question relates specifically to Raheen in Limerick but is also concerned with the WSS in general so I will try to address both the national and local aspects of this.

The WSS is an employment support to private sector employers, the aim of which is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and so increase the number of people with disabilities obtaining and sustaining employment in the open labour market. This is something that we really want to achieve as a Government, as Deputy O'Dea has just outlined. The scheme provides financial incentives to hire people with a disability for between 21 and 39 subsidised hours per week under a contract of employment. Expenditure on the WSS in 2021 is expected to be almost €26 million. Just under 1,600 employers receive subsidies under the scheme in respect of some 2,600 workers. It is a demand-led scheme and it is open to any employer to come forward and avail of the scheme.

The WSS is different from sheltered employment or occupational activity arranged for therapeutic reasons. The majority of employers who avail of the scheme employ workers in commercial activities and in roles that are open to all workers, not just to people with disabilities. The basic rate of subsidy is €5.30 per hour giving a total annual subsidy available of €10,748 per annum based on a 39-hour week. Where an employer has 23 or more WSS employees, a top-up is applied and the payment rate increases to €7.95 per hour for each employee. The subsidy rate is not linked to the statutory minimum wage. It is a contribution paid to the employer, subject to certain conditions, against the cost incurred where a productivity shortfall arises from a disability. There are different strands in that space. The contract of employment offered must be for a minimum of six months and the employee is subject to and has the same rights, in accordance with the conditions of employment, as any other employee. Included in these conditions is the requirement that the employee must be paid the going rate for the job which must be at least the statutory minimum wage.

I am aware of the redundancies recently announced at the facility at Raheen in Limerick referred to by Deputy O'Dea. I extend my sympathy and that of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to the workers in the Rehab Logistics facility who are facing redundancy. I fully appreciate how difficult the situation is for those involved and for their families. Deputy O'Dea and others have raised their plight and the Departments of Social Protection and Enterprise, Trade and Employment are working to try to find a solution. We are happy to engage in conversations with others to try to assist in any way we can.

The Department of Social Protection is already paying a subsidy of almost 78% of the wages of 35 employees of this particular company. A further position is subsidised under strand 3. This is in addition to significant funding provided by the HSE. Between January and December 2020, the Department paid a total of over €2.3 million in subsidies to the Rehab Group across its various locations, including Limerick. The payments made to the Rehab Group account for 13.5% of the overall payments made by the WSS in 2020. The Department is trying to provide an important service in conjunction with the Rehab Group.

At a local level, dedicated staff in the Department have been assigned to work directly with the employees affected by the redundancies at Raheen in Limerick to ensure they receive their proper entitlements and appropriate supports. The Departments of Social Protection and Enterprise, Trade and Employment are examining the situation to see what more can be done. Deputy O'Dea has made some suggestions in that regard tonight which I will feed back into the system. The Department of Health is also involved in the context of supporting day-care arrangements that may be required by some, but not all, of the workers.

There is a commitment in the programme for Government to fine-tune and expand targeted employment schemes such as the WSS to help more people with disabilities to stay in the workforce. With this in mind, the Department of Social Protection will be carrying out a review of the WSS this year. That work has commenced already. Again, I am happy to engage with Deputy O'Dea on some of the solutions he has put forward this evening and to discuss them with the Minister for Social Protection and the Tánaiste.

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