Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an cheist seo. On the wage subsidy scheme, employers face a risk when hiring any new worker, including in the context of whether the worker has the ability to do the job. Many employers perceive the risk as greater when a person under consideration has a disability, even where that person is highly qualified and able to do the job. It is important that we seek to neutralise this perceived risk to level the playing field faced by a person with a disability when he or she is competing for employment against other jobseekers. That is what the wage subsidy scheme seeks to do - to assist to level this playing field.

To do this, the scheme incentivises and supports employers to hire people with a disability by providing a subsidy to reduce ongoing salary costs. The rate of subsidy varies with the number of people with disabilities employed under the scheme, from €6.30 per hour when an employer hires one worker with a disability, increasing by 10% when the number employed is three or more and reaching a maximum of €9.45 per hour, when the number of people with a disability in employment with the employer exceeds 22. Employers who employ 25 or more people with a disability will also benefit from a €30,000 per year grant towards the cost of employing an employment assistance officer. Employers can also avail of a range of supports under the work and access scheme, including support with the cost of workplace adaptations.

As of March 2025, 1,501 employers partaking of the wage subsidy scheme and 2,464 people with disabilities were supported through the scheme. In August 2024, my Department published a review of the wage subsidy scheme. The review made six recommendations, including to reduce the minimum required hours of the scheme, to regularly review the subsidy rate and to expand the scheme to employers outside of the private sector. These recommended changes have been made to the scheme. It is hoped they will make the scheme more accessible and flexible for people with disabilities and their employers. We will launch an information campaign this month to highlight the expanded scope of the scheme and to promote a greater level of awareness and take-up among employers.

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