Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35403/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In order to respond effectively to the growing numbers on the live register and the continuing unprecedented contraction in employment opportunities, it was decided in the context of last supplementary budget to refocus resources on the enterprise strand of the back to work allowance which supports people into self employment. These changes significantly strengthen the support for social welfare customers wishing to move to self employment. In this context the employee strand of the back to work allowance has been closed to new applicants from the 1 May 2009. Persons who qualified for the back to work employee strand prior to this date will continue to be paid their entitlements. It is not intended to replace this scheme at present.

As at the beginning of July 2009, 0.34% of disability welfare payment recipients were availing of the employee strand of the back to work allowance. This indicates a low uptake of the scheme by people in receipt of disability welfare payments. While the wage subsidy scheme administered by FÁS provides an incentive to employers to employ people with disabilities it was considered that access to the back to work allowance had not significantly incentivised or promoted participant uptake of employment to any considerable degree.

The Department is committed to supporting people with disabilities into and in employment. The current model of an earnings disregard for rehabilitative employment is instrumental in incentivising people in receipt of Disability Allowance to take up employment or self-employment that is considered rehabilitative in nature. A person may also retain any secondary benefits they were in receipt of prior to taking up employment.

In January 2008, the Department obtained approval under the European Social Fund, Human Capital Investment Operational Programme 2007-2013 for a cross agency programme to develop and assess new approaches to promoting participation in the economy on the part of people with disabilities. The high level objective of this interagency project is to develop and test a comprehensive employment strategy based on individual case management of people on illness/disability welfare payments that will have the capacity to increase their rate of employment. The project has commenced in the BMW region, in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. It is envisaged that the strategy, when developed and tested, will form the basis of a working model for activation of people on illness/disability welfare payments which can be rolled out on a county wide basis. In the above context it is not considered appropriate to reinstate the back to work allowance for people in receipt of disability welfare payments.