Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the efforts his Department makes to encourage and assist persons with disabilities and long-term illnesses to identify and take up available employment, training and educational and other self development opportunities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22915/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department tries to assist and encourage long-term unemployed, people with disabilities and other long-term welfare recipients to return to work, training or further education through a range of measures administered by my Department's social and family support service. The back to work allowance scheme incentivises and encourages long-term unemployed people, lone parents and certain persons with disabilities to return to work by allowing them to retain part of their social welfare payment for a period when they take up employment or self employment.

My Department also administers the back to education allowance programme which is available to people who need to obtain educational qualifications before re-entering the labour market. It also operates a special projects fund, administered by facilitators based in social welfare local offices, which enables facilitators to provide enhanced supports to people who need additional help to progress to further training and employment. The groups who may need special help of this nature include the long-term ill and people with disabilities. In 2004, 23 special projects catered for people with disabilities at a cost of over €500,000.

The Department also operates small scale family services projects in certain areas, which are designed to focus supports towards specific target groups with complex needs, including people with disabilities. The provision of this additional support involves individual attention, customised information and enhanced access to services. It can increase the capacity of those in the most difficult circumstances, including people with disabilities, to improve their self esteem and personal situations through access to basic education, training and developmental opportunities.

It is hoped that by encouraging customers with disabilities to participate in self development programmes and, in some instances, "taster" educational programmes that they will move on to more formalised training and educational programmes. In 2004, six projects catered for people with disabilities and their families at a cost of €66,240.

The special projects and family services initiatives are based on the application of a partnership approach between my Department, the voluntary and community sector, the private sector and other local players in identifying and addressing local needs in terms of training and development for people dependent on social welfare payments, including people with disabilities.

Customers in receipt of certain illness related payments such as disability allowance, disability benefit and invalidity pension are not debarred from working while in receipt of these payments, subject to meeting certain criteria. Disability allowance is means tested and any income received would be assessed as means subject, however, to the current income disregard of €120 per week. Disability benefit and invalidity pension customers may, in certain circumstances, be allowed to undertake work for rehabilitative reasons with a view to improving their prospects of returning to full-time work at a future date.