Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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82. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will revise the youth guarantee to make specific positive provisions for young persons with disabilities. [24274/14]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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When the youth guarantee was conceived at EU level, the idea was to guarantee all young people a meaningful education, training or a job opportunity. When the Government developed the implementation plan, it sought to limit that guarantee by excluding young people with disabilities. Will the Minister open up participation in the youth guarantee provisions to young people with disabilities?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Government recognises the importance of increasing participation in employment for people with disabilities, including young people. I am committed to removing any barriers that remain preventing people with disabilities from participating in activation programmes and employment.

In terms of mainstream provision, young people with a disability can access all activation programmes, for example, SOLAS training courses, community employment schemes and JobBridge. Those previously receiving a social welfare payment will either retain that payment or move to a training allowance or temporary employment payment, depending on their individual circumstances.

In addition to facilitating access to its mainstream provision, SOLAS funds customised training for people with disabilities provided by a range of specialist training providers. The Department of Social Protection also provides a wide range of income and work-related supports specifically for people with disabilities. These include the EmployAbility service, formerly the supported employment programme. This facilitates the integration of people with disabilities into paid employment in the open labour market. Also included are a number of other supports specifically for employers, including the wage subsidy scheme, which pays an employer a subsidy for employing a person with a disability, the work equipment adaptation grant, the employee retention grant and the disability awareness scheme.

In addition, the Department launched the disability activation project, DACT, at the end of 2012. This is based in the Border, midland and western region and covers four specific strands associated with the employment of people with disabilities, including progression programmes for young people with a disability. DACT will provide invaluable guidance as to how best to develop further effective activation measures generally for people with disabilities into the future.

My Department funds the Willing Able Mentoring, WAM, programme, which helps to bring graduates and employers together to promote access to the labour market for graduates with disabilities. As we roll out the youth guarantee, I very much hope that those with disabilities, particularly the young, will be involved.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Everybody would hope for that but the problem is that young people with disabilities are specifically excluded from the youth guarantee. The Minister has an opportunity to correct that before the youth guarantee is developed any further. My question seeks to have disabled youth specifically included and to have a specific amount of funding set aside just for them. Most of the allowances and measures the Minister mentioned are not specific to young people.

My question was on the youth guarantee. Does the Minister intend at this stage to amend the youth guarantee and its documentation rather than wait for a promised review to ensure there will be no discrimination against young people with a disability? Will she try to assure organisations such as WALK, which made a presentation to the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection last month and which was concerned, that there will be no discrimination and that measures will be implemented to enhance, rather than take away from, the opportunities, small as they are, for young people who are disabled?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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From visiting and meeting many of the groups and organisations that work with young people with a disability, sometimes intellectual and sometimes physical, I realise there is significant pent-up demand to allow young people with a disability to participate in the labour force as well as in all the educational opportunities that the State has to offer. I am sure the Deputy supports this objective. As the Deputy knows, I, as Minister, have opened up areas of opportunity in social protection that were not focused on previously, including in respect of young or older people with a disability.

With regard to the youth guarantee and its initial layout in terms of how Europe has indicated it wants to proceed, the relevant authorities have been speaking about young people who are unemployed. Obviously, somebody in receipt of an allowance in regard to a disability is not technically on the live register but may very well wish to participate properly in work and educational opportunities. I would encourage him or her to do so as much as possible.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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As I have done in other areas, as we progress the negotiations with Europe to commence the youth guarantee, the scheme is currently being piloted in the Ballymun area. I would be very anxious to see full provision for young people with disabilities.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister. I call Deputy Ó Snodaigh.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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However, it is important that the existing opportunities are fully maintained for young people with disabilities because they are popular.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister and I hope she lives up to a commitment she seems to be making. I want, if at all possible, for her to list the new measures under the youth guarantee, rather than existing measures, and what portion of additional youth guarantee funding, not existing funding, will go to ensure there is work available for young people with disabilities. As I said, the EU has provided the money and it has requested that it be told only when matters have progressed to the point of spending it. However, it did not put limits as to whether somebody has a disability or not. It would be wrong if Ireland was one of the states that limits access to the opportunities the youth guarantee will hopefully present to young people into the future. That would be a bad day for Ireland.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The issue is that we get the fullest use of the existing schemes. I want to say to employers who may be listening or reading this, if it is reported in the media, that we offer, through the Department of Social Protection, very significant wage subsidy schemes for employers who take on people with a disability of any age although, of course, this includes young people. Many people in organisations dealing with young people with a disability are very keen to see that scheme expanded, as I am. Measures include the wage subsidy, the adaptations scheme which, for example, provides for small-level grants for physical adaptation of premises, if necessary, and the mentoring scheme provided both to the employer and to the young person.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am very familiar with some of the work that is being done in this area and know it is very important in helping young people to access employment successfully, either on a full-time or a part-time basis, whether it is done under that scheme or in the wider context of the youth guarantee. I hope the Deputy shares with me, as he probably does, the common goal of seeing more young people able to take up employment opportunities that are, as I said, either full-time or part-time, and while they must take into account that they may have a limitation in one area-----

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----employers should be aware of all the other marvellous creative things they can bring to employment. I want to ask employers to consider the possibility of including in their organisations people with a disability.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you. Before we move to Questions Nos. 83 and 84, I ask Members to stay within the time limits. It is not fair to other Deputies who are waiting for questions. I call Deputy Joan Collins.