Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming here to discuss this all-important topic. He is taking it on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys. My question relates to people who are in receipt of disability allowance and who want to re-enter the workplace or go out volunteering. Not everybody ends up availing of the disability allowance for the same reason and one size does not fit all. People end up availing of the disability allowance for various reasons. Some of them have debilitating illnesses which mean they are well for a couple of weeks but may then be unwell for a period. Just because people are physically unable to do things does not mean they are mentally unable to do things. Many people need to be able to go to work to keep their brains going. They have much to give to the workplace but the biggest issue is that they are in fear of losing their welfare allowances. We need to work with people who have disabilities and encourage them to come into the workplace, especially when their health is good.

Many people cannot work for various reasons but love to volunteer with organisations and bring their skill sets to bear. However, there is a lot of red tape involved to allow people to volunteer because it is considered a form of work. I would like to see the Department of Social Protection working with people with such skills sets and who want to go out there and make a contribution to their communities or to different organisations. I would like something to happen for these people. We must ensure that at the same time, they do not lose their welfare payments.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I will be responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I agree wholeheartedly with the Senator. As far as I am aware, we have the lowest rate in Europe for the employment of people with disabilities in the workplace. There are a number of significant barriers for people with disabilities that we must address.

The Department of Social Protection provides a wide range of income and employment-related supports for people with disabilities. Recruitment and retention incentives are also provided for employers seeking to employ a jobseeker with a disability or supporting an employee who has a disability.

Disability allowance is structured to support recipients to avail of work opportunities, be that self-employment or insurable employment. A person can earn up to €495.10 per week and still retain some of their disability allowance. Changes made in the three most recent budgets have sought to support disabled people into employment.

Budget 2023 was the third successive budget in which the Government increased earnings disregards, which ensures that people with disabilities retain more of their payments while in employment. The earnings disregard for recipients of disability allowance has increased by almost 38% over these budgets from €120 to €165 currently. In addition, recipients of disability allowance can have up to €50,000 in savings and still receive the full rate of payment. This is compared with €20,000 for most social welfare payments.

The Department of Social Protection has also introduced a number of measures to support the transition into employment. A benefit of work estimator has been provided for persons with a disability and it helps people calculate the net benefit of entering or returning to work. The free travel pass may be retained for five years by people with a long-term disability in receipt of the disability allowance who take up employment.When a person exits a disability payment to enter employment, he or she can be fast-tracked back into the payment if the person needs it, to revert within 12 months.

The Department has recently published a review of the reasonable accommodation fund and the disability awareness support scheme. The review made a number of recommendations including that they be amalgamated into a single flexible scheme. Work on implementation of these recommendations is under way and it is hoped to launch a reformed scheme in the first quarter of 2024.

Recently, the Minister published the Green Paper on Disability Reform and launched the associated public consultation. I would like to emphasise that the Green Paper is not a final design and no changes will be made to the current payments at this time. The Green Paper is a proposal on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It does not claim to be the best way or the only way to change the structure of our payments. The proposals in the Green Paper represent a starting point for a structured discussion.

Given that it has been well documented that Ireland’s employment rate for people with disabilities is below the EU average, do we keep doing what we are doing and expect a different result, or do we actually try to improve the system for people with disabilities? I believe we know the answer to that question.

There has been no reform to disability payments for decades. There are different rules and regulations across our scheme and there can often be anomalies. The Minister and the Government want to simplify the system and make it work better for people with disabilities. This is about recognising that not all disabilities are the same and that people may need extra help. I want to assure the Senator that the intention is to try to simplify the social welfare system and make it work better for people with disabilities. There are no proposals to reduce anybody's payment. Rather the proposals in the Green Paper are about providing additional support to those who need it most.

The Minister has already met with the various disability organisations to brief them on the Green Paper. The Minister wants to ensure we get a strong response to this public consultation. I would like to very much encourage all those with an interest to express their views as part of the public consultation process. Full details on how to make a submission as part of the public consultation are available at gov.ie

I will make further comments in my closing remarks but I would like to thank the Senator for raising this issue. This is an issue which is close to my heart. We can all agree that the current situation, with the high cost of disability, high poverty risks and low employment for people with disabilities, cannot continue. It is important that we work together to try to address these matters.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply and for his positive response. I encourage people with disabilities to make a submission because it is very important. I also encourage people I know to do so. I have been working with people who have disabilities to make submissions. I am glad that the Minister of State, on behalf of the Department, acknowledges that much has been done and there is more to do. This is very important. The fact that not everybody's disability is the same and that no one size fits all is the best description of this issue. It is positive that something is happening in the Department and that it is conscious that it does not want to leave some people in poverty because of their disability when they want to make a contribution. It is very encouraging to think that the Department is looking at how it can facilitate and work with people. I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate his response.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank Senator Byrne again for raising this issue. I agree wholeheartedly with her. As I outlined in my opening statement, the Government has made significant strides forward but we realise we have much more to do to address the issues of underemployment of people with disabilities. I met recently with residents in RehabCare in Kilkenny. Again, there is a great deal of frustration out there among people with disabilities who are trying to access the workplace. They often find themselves getting work experience which goes on for indefinite periods of time when they are not getting paid. It is critically important that we have an infrastructure here, as we are a country with full employment. These people who have so much to offer in the workplace and often add to the diversity of it. It is vitally important that we try to address this.

I believe the commitment of the Minister is unwavering with regard to the public consultation on the Green Paper. It is very important and I urge all disability organisations to engage with this process in a positive way.