Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

The wage subsidy scheme is a key disability employment support provided by my Department. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people through a subsidy. As the Deputy knows, the employee must work at least 15 hours per week for the employer to qualify for the scheme. The subsidy is payable for a maximum of 39 hours per week. The base subsidy rate is €6.30 per hour, which increases to €9.45 per hour for employers with 23 or more disabled employees. An employer who employs 25 or more employees on the wage subsidy scheme may receive a grant of €30,000 towards the cost of employing an employment assistance officer.

Last year, my Department published a review of the wage subsidy scheme. In April 2024, based on the findings of that review, the minimum required hours for the scheme were reduced from 21 hours per week to 15 hours per week. This change sought to make the scheme more accessible and flexible to disabled people. However, it is also intended to ensure that the wage subsidy scheme maintains a key aim of encouraging employers to provide substantial and meaningful work to disabled people. The cost of the reduction in the hours requirement is estimated at approximately €889,000. This represents the cost of paying the subsidy in respect of employees whose weekly contracted hours are from 15 to 20 hours, inclusive. Prior to the change, employers would not have been eligible for the subsidy in respect of those employees.

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