Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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90. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his plans for ensuring that the social welfare system is progressive and empowers people with a disability to live full and independent lives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8462/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Fiafraím den Aire maidir lena na gcuid pleananna chun a chinntiú go bhfuil an córas leasa coimirce forásach agus go gcumhachtaítear do dhaoine faoi mhíchumas saol iomlán neamhspleách a chaitheamh agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ar an ábhar? What are the Minister's plans for ensuring that the social welfare system is progressive and empowers people with disabilities to live full and independent lives?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith ag an Teachta agus tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go seasaimid le daoine faoi mhíchumas agus is rud an-tábhachtach don Rialtas nua é go mbeidh athruithe sa chuidiú sa Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí do dhaoine atá faoi mhíchumas. My Department already provides a range of income and employment supports to people with disabilities. These include payments such as the disability allowance, the invalidity pension and blind pension. Also included in these supports are the partial capacity benefit, the wage subsidy scheme, the work and access programme, and the EmployAbility service.

People with disabilities are also supported in pursuing further education and training programmes through payments such as the back to education allowance and direct referral to training courses via Intreo and the EmployAbility service. This combination of income support payments and education and employment supports is being developed to help people with disabilities live full and independent lives.

Over successive budgets, payment rates have been increased and supports have been improved for people with disabilities, including: a €41 increase to disability income support payments since budget 2021; an increase in the earnings disregard for disability allowance by 38% since budget 2021; and a suite of once-off lump sum and double payments to assist disabled people with the cost of living.

In recent years, my Department has also reformed grants for reasonable accommodations and introduced an early engagement model for young and newly disabled people interested in work. I will also launch a reform of the wage subsidy scheme in the coming weeks.

We have a lot more to do. We recognise that people with disabilities face higher poverty and lower employment rates than others in society. That is why the programme for Government prioritises investment in services and supports for people with disabilities, including commitments to improve income and employment supports to empower people with disabilities. These will include: an annual cost of disability support payment; a reform of the disability allowance payment and means test; a review of the minimum hours requirement and examination of the payment rate for the wage subsidy scheme; and an expansion of successful programmes like WorkAbility, EmployAbility and work and access. That work is being led by a newly created Cabinet committee specifically dedicated to disability issues.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith ag an Aire. It is great to see the progress the Government and the Minister and his Department are making in such a short space of time. As the Minister outlined, people with disabilities face additional costs, be it in the context of healthcare, medication, transport of whatever. It is important that we provide people living with a disability with the ability to not just live but also to thrive, that we ensure there is no hindrance on the part of the State and that we are assist them as much as possible.

In the context of the additional positive measures outlined in the programme for Government, such as a permanent annual cost of disability support payment, an increased weekly disability payment and a domiciliary care allowance, are there timelines for the introduction of these?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. This is a key priority for the Government. The Taoiseach convened a meeting on Monday to discuss support across government for people with disabilities. About seven Ministers were present at that meeting.

The Department of Social Protection commissioned Indecon to research issues around the cost of disability. Indecon's report was published in 2021. It identified the additional costs of disability across a number of areas of expenditure, including housing, transport and health. It found that there is not a single typical cost to disability. Rather, it is a spectrum from low to high additional costs of disability which depend on everybody's individual circumstances. The report concluded that a multifaceted whole-of-government approach is required to address the cost of disability which will be a key priority for the new Cabinet committee and that is why the Taoiseach is leading out on this.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, under the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is in the process of developing a new national disability strategy. Officials in the Department of Social Protection are contributing to the development and implementation of that strategy with a view to supporting people with disabilities through schemes from my Department.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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It is great to see the amount of work that is happening in the Department. I ask that those involved in dealing with this matter might look at the councils in how they approach this issue. The likes of the housing adaptation grant should be more readily available. People should have greater opportunities to apply for that grant in order to allow them to have the works it covers carried out.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with the Minister that there are increased costs for those with disabilities and their families. There has been a failure to address this. That is a matter we need to look at. Has the Minister had an update on the reasonable accommodation fund and the disability awareness support scheme? The idea is to look at this from the point of view of facilitating employers as much as possible - I dealt with the previous Minister on this - and ensuring that there are reasonable accommodations, whether they are technological or operational in nature, in the workplace. On many occasions, there has been a reliance on an employer applying for schemes when some of what was involved could have been done beforehand. It is about ensuring that we streamline the system and ensure delivery.

I also agree with Teachta Ó Cearúil on the housing adaptation grant. While that is beyond the remit of the Minister, it needs to be looked at in the context of those with disabilities. What is happening at present does not really cut the mustard.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputies Ó Cearúil and Ó Murchú for raising this. I agree with them on housing. We will bring that to the Minister, Deputy Browne for attention. Deputy Ó Murchú raised the reasonable accommodation fund. My Department published a review of that scheme in 2023 and we have made changes. The new scheme offers seven supports to help reduce and remove barriers in the workplace for people with disability, including support for communication, job coaches, personal readers, work equipment, workplace adaptations and training. Jobseekers, employees, self-employed people and employers can apply for those supports both for business premises and remote workplaces. The scheme is being expanded to all non-public sector employees, including the community and voluntary sector. In July 2024, we launched the work and access to replace former schemes. We published a review of the wage subsidy scheme. Through the WorkAbility programme, which is a fantastic programme nationwide, we are bringing much more awareness of supports available for people with disabilities in work spaces but also supports that are available for employers. That touches on the Deputy's concerns that we are not communicating enough to employers about the supports that are there to assist them to employ people with disability. As a former Minister of State with the Department of enterprise, I will be focused on bringing communication to employers that there are supports there, not just to adapt their premises but to support them as employers to take on people with disability and allow them to make a full contribution to society.