Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, Senator, and in more than ways than one.

I thank Senator McGreehan for tabling a Commencement matter on this important issue. I hope that it is an issue I will be able to convey to my colleagues, so my Minister and three Ministers of State, how passionate I am about this issue not just, like the Senator, from the whole idea of equality and inclusion but also as a person who loves business, loves to see entrepreneurs and loves to see an entrepreneurial spirit. This issue has arisen a couple of times. Yesterday, Senator Ahearn mentioned this issue at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. We had a good meeting with Senator Conway and a deputation from the National Council for the Blind in Ireland a matter of weeks ago. We have to frame this issue. This economy has reached full employment, effectively, with 2.57 million people at work and an unemployment rate of just 4.2%. What does that say to us and what is the requirement we need? Obviously we need to bring in more talent from abroad to address the very clear issues in the labour market but we really need to activate and work within a more dedicated manner, with the long-term unemployed or those people who have not been in a position to either secure the role or job that they want or, in this case in particular, to start their own business, and thrive in that strong ecosystem we have for entrepreneurs and creating new enterprises.

As the Senator McGreehan well, the local enterprise offices, LEOs, are the first-stop-shop, like the LEO office located just up the road from her in Dundalk. I visited that lovely office two months ago. I think it was my first constituency visit that I made after I took up office. It was brilliant to see the amount of entrepreneurs in north County Louth, and in particular, out on the Cooley peninsula, which is located near the Senator's home place. Those entrepreneurs are doing so well. I saw an amazing signposting service of all relevant State supports through agencies as well as through, and, crucially, we do work very closely, as the Senator mentioned, with the Department of Social Protection but also the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Revenue Commissioners, education and training board,s the Credit Review office, and Microfinance Ireland.

The LEO grant supports are available to all entrepreneurs provided their business meets the eligibility criteria of the support for which they are applying. Direct financial grant aid, such as the priming grant and the business expansion grant, are intended for businesses in the manufacturing and internationally traded services. In addition, all entrepreneurs can avail of LEO training, mentoring and management development programmes. Furthermore, LEO offices can provide additional support to entrepreneurs such as one-to-one mentoring or accommodations to assist with the completion of grant application forms, which is a relevant issue. Senator McGreehan and I probably do not think too much of form filling but we all have instances where people come to our clinics because they are daunted by having to fill out a 12-page form. People with disabilities, and people for lots of other reasons, find forms intimidating. I wish to mention a course that that the LEO mentors are providing, in conjunction with the Technological University or TU Dublin, and perhaps this is something that Dundalk Institute of Technology, DkIT, could accept, is a course opened to anyone who self-identifies as having a disability and has a business idea that they wish to evaluate as a sustainable enterprise. It would be a great course that could be located at the Grangegorman campus of Technological University Dublin, TUD. More particularly, there is a huge opportunity for this at all of our technological universities and institutes of technology.

I reiterate how closely my Department works with the Department of Social Protection to provide grants to individuals with disabilities to assist them in their employment. This includes the reasonable accommodation fund, which consists of: the workplace equipment and adaptation grant; the job interview interpreter grant; the personal reader grant; and the employee retention grant. Both the disability allowance and the blind pension have been designed to support recipients to pursue employment opportunities, be that self-employment or insurable employment. When a person enters insurable employment, an income disregard of €165 per week is applied. In addition, 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 are disregarded for the purpose of the means test. Anyone in receipt of either the disability allowance or the blind pension is also eligible for the Department’s back-to-work enterprise allowance scheme, which has been designed to support persons to take up self-employment opportunities. The scheme operates over two years and allows a person to become self-employed yet retain 100% of their current payment in year one and 75% in year two.

I know that I am over time, Acting Chairperson, but I wish to make two key points that will address the specific request made by the Senator. I acknowledge what she said about the potential for a new innovation and equity fund. That is a suggestion that I will take back to my Department to investigate. I have outlined a plethora of supports that exist but the key issue, which is where we should work together, is that these supports are perhaps not flexible enough to meet the very unique demands of those with disabilities. I acknowledge that here today. I fundamentally think that we can do a lot more in that space, and I am open, ready, willing and able to do so. I appreciate the Acting Chairperson's indulgence.