David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1142: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 99 of 11 October 2006, the take up of employer grants and schemes which support the employment of people with disabilities; the amount allocated to these services and schemes in 2006; the amount taken up; his plans to improve take up rates; if the review of the wage subsidy scheme has been completed by his Department and the findings of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3132/07]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The budget for FÁS programmes for people with disabilities during 2006 totalled approximately €67.71million. Expenditure amounted to approximately €64.83 million, or 95.74% of the total budget.

The following programmes were funded — the budget allocated to each in € million is in brackets:

The corresponding expenditure rate for FÁS programmes for people with disabilities in 2005 was 91.21%. The increase in take-up last year reflects both political and agency determination to better publicise information and more actively promote State supports to advance training and employment opportunities for this cohort of workers. A recent example of this activity took place last month when the organisation entitled People with Disabilities Ireland, working in cooperation with FÁS, organised a series of lunchtime conferences in 18 locations throughout the country — again with the objective of raising awareness amongst employers and so positively promoting the employment of a greater number of people with disabilities.

As the success of publicly funded interventions to improve the labour market prospects of people with disabilities, such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme, is largely dependent on the extent to which employers are aware of and avail of the employment incentives that they provide, such promotion and publicity will continue to be indispensable also in the future.

The Consultative Forum on the Employment Strategy, which is being established in line with provisions of my Department's Sectoral Plan for People with Disabilities, will add a significant and representative new dimension to this work.

Finally, the review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme will be finalised in the course of this year.