Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Sinn Féin introduced Private Members’ business this week in relation to the lack of a cost-of-disability payment. There were many organisations in Leinster House on the day, including Rehab, the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Disability Federation of Ireland and a number of its constituent organisations.

There is a point that needs to be repeated. Everyone accepts what was in the Indecon report commissioned by the Government back in 2021. It found that the cost of disability is, on average, between €9,482 and €11,734 per annum. Given the removal of the one-off payments that were included last year, there has been a huge cut of anywhere between €1,200 and €1,600 for those with a disability.

Another issue that was brought up, particularly by Rehab on the day and by others since, is the wage subsidy scheme. I thank the Minister of State for being present to deal with this matter. I spoke earlier with Deputy Dara Calleary, who is the Minister responsible for the scheme. It is fair to say that the wage subsidy scheme is not fit for purpose. The scheme is the means by which companies get a certain payment for employing those with disabilities. They would get an increased payment for employing a number of people due to added costs of, for example, administration and so on.

The problem with this State is that we have a disability employment rate of approximately 32.6%, which is almost 20% below the EU average of 51.3%. Moreover, the disability employment gap is 38.6%, which is higher than the EU average of 24.4%. This problem has to be addressed.

There were complaints regarding strand 3 funding, which has remained static over 20 years despite an estimated inflation rate of over 50% in the intervening period. We can see how this would impact employers.

I thank Rehab for its correspondence in this regard, which I will put on the record:

We were somewhat encouraged with the announcement of an increase of €1.20, in the WSS base rate, although it was far short of what we had hoped, which was an increase of €3.40, to attempt to start to address ... [wage] increases [which, obviously, nobody is against but there is an impact in relation to these companies]. Strand Two of WSS, allowed for a top-up, depending on the number of disabled people employed from 10% to 50%. As one of the larger employers of people with a disability, if we were awarded the full top-up rate of 50%, this would provide a rate of €1.80 per hour.

However, that did not happen.

I will go through a number of the points raised in the letter. If a company had three to six employees, whereas previously it would have been paid €6.93 - I am talking about fixed rates - that has gone to €7.50. However, it is not a €1.20 increase for them; it is a 57 cent increase.

For those at the higher end, for example at 23% where they would previously have got a 50% wage subsidy, it only jumped from €9.45 to €10. It is an increase, but of just 55 cent. We all know the inflationary difficulties that exist at the minute. I will go through some of the figures from the last while. In 2022, the subsidy was €6.30, or 60% of the minimum wage. By 2025, this was down to 46.6%. If we look at the number of employers, in 2019 there were 1,979 and but that had down to 1,504 by last year. The number of employees was 2,881 in 2019, and it is now 2,466. Those numbers are all going in the wrong direction.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I am responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Calleary, who cannot be here. The wage subsidy scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people through a subsidy. As of September 2025, there were 1,538 employers availing of the wage subsidy scheme and 2,445 employees supported through the scheme. Expenditure on the scheme was €23.46 million in 2025. Last year, the Department of Social Protection published a review of the wage subsidy scheme following a public consultation. The review made six recommendations and an additional €3.7 million has been allocated to implement the recommendations. In April 2024, the minimum number of hours for the scheme was reduced from 21 to 15. The scheme now includes employers in the community and voluntary sectors, as well as employers who employ certain people in receipt of the partial capacity benefit. One recommendation was to promote and increase awareness of the scheme to encourage a greater uptake among employers. In June of this year, the Minister launched the reformed scheme together with the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. Following that, a media campaign was launched to raise awareness of this beneficial scheme. It ran for six weeks. It is hoped that the implementation of the recommendations of the review will result in an expansion of the scheme. The review also recommended that the subsidy rate be reviewed every three years.

We reviewed the rate in the context of budget 2026 and provided an increase in the base rate of the wage subsidy from €6.30 to €7.50. This is an increase of over 19%. Almost 80% of employees are subsidised at the base rate. Previously, there were six rates of subsidy depending on the number employed under the scheme. The scheme was considered highly complex, difficult to communicate to employers and difficult to administer. It was decided to simplify it into three bands instead of six. All subsidy rates were increased in the budget. Employers with up to six employees under the scheme are to be paid the base rate of €7.50 per employee per hour from April 2026. Employers with seven to 16 employees are to be paid €8.50. Employers with 17 employees and more are to be paid €10 per employee. An employer who employs 25 or more active employees with a disability on the wage subsidy scheme is eligible for a grant towards the employment of an employment assistance officer. This role is to support and assist the relevant employees with their needs in employment. The grant is for €30,000 per year. There is a limit of five employment assistance officer positions in any one company. Seven companies received this funding. Based on the recent figures, 1,463 employers will receive the base rate, 18 will receive the middle rate and seven will receive the top rate.

Budget 2026 has provided for a further expansion to people who acquire a disability while in employment and to those who transfer from the invalidity pension to the partial capacity benefit. The programme for Government commits to further review the minimum hours requirement under the wage subsidy scheme for disabled people and to examine an increase to the payment rate. These commitments are also reflected in the human rights strategy for disabled people, which the Government published recently.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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That the programme for Government "commits to further review the minimum hours requirement under the wage subsidy scheme" is an absolute necessity. It goes without saying that we need "to examine an increase to the payment rate". One of the fears is with the three-year review mechanism. There will be other factors that will impact the costs faced by the Rehab Group and some of these other organisations, as well as on their ability to operate. We need to make sure there are not more employers who remove themselves from this scheme, which would mean there is less available employment for those with a disability. We are not in a good place in that regard. Beyond that, we need to streamline the entire system. The work and access programme, which allows for reasonable accommodation funding, is not fit for purpose. The wage subsidy scheme at the minute needs to be reviewed. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Minister from the point of view that this needs to be looked at.

I will pass on the correspondence from a number of organisations that are in difficulty. The following statement is from Reach Ability:

We are a small social enterprise based in Wexford supporting and employing people with intellectual disabilities. We rely on the WSS to support a number of our employers and the widening gap over recent years between the WSS and the minimum wage has put us under increasing financial pressure. Having heard that the WSS is to increase by €1.20 per hour this year, but to then discover that our rate will only increase by 57 cent per hour while the minimum wage is going up by 65 cent, is dispiriting to everyone who is working so hard to maintain our jobs.

They have requested any support that can be offered. I received the following correspondence from Mr. Price:

For employers like us with 23 or more people with a disability on the pay roll, the rate paid increases from €9.45 to €10, an uplift of 55 cent. While this is welcome, it falls far short of offsetting the ongoing impact of successive wage increases.

At the minute, it is not fit for purpose. It needs to be looked at. We need to look after those with disabilities and we are failing at the minute.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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We are committed to improving the wage subsidy scheme and supporting organisations employing more than one person under the scheme. The Department of Social Protection offers a range of other employment supports for disabled people and their employers. In July 2024, the Department launched the work and access scheme, which offers seven supports to improve access in the workplace for disabled people. Organisations and employers can apply for support in adapting the workplace, and can avail of disability, equality and inclusion training to gain a better awareness and understanding of disabilities in the workplace. This scheme is available to all non-public sector employers, including charities and voluntary organisations. In December 2023, the Department launched the WorkAbility programme to support people with disabilities into employment through 57 local, regional and national projects. The programme aims to support over 13,000 disabled people over five years. It is important that we work together across government to address the barriers to employment, to improve employment outcome for disabled people and to support employers.

The Government recently launched the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which covers the period from 2025 to 2030. This strategy prioritises a cross-government approach. The Department of Social Protection and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment will lead the employment pillar, with a focus on improving access to the workplace for all disabled people. I am very pleased that in budget 2026, we are able to increase the subsidy rates on the wage subsidy scheme and expand the eligibility for the scheme. I will bring the issues that the Deputy has raised to the attention of the Minister. I will ask him to respond directly to the Deputy.