Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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126. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the activation measures she has in place for 2014 to help persons with a disability to find employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3677/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department provides a wide range of income and work-related supports for people with disabilities. Work-related supports include the EmployAbility service (formerly the Supported Employment Programme) which facilitates the integration of people with disabilities into paid employment in the open labour market; and a number of other supports specifically for employers (the Wage Subsidy Scheme - which pays an employer a subsidy for employing a person with a disability – the Work Equipment Adaptation Grant, the Employee Retention Grant, and the Disability Awareness Scheme). Furthermore, participation in Community Employment (CE) schemes is also open to people with disabilities.

I would also point out that I launched the Disability Activation Project (DACT) at the end of 2012. The DACT Project is jointly funded by the European Social Fund and the Department of Social Protection and is targeted at projects in the Borders, Midlands and Western (BMW) region. €7 million is being provided to 14 projects (which will run until early 2015) across the BMW region to address four specific strands around the employment of people with disabilities.

The four strands are as follows:-

(a) improving access to employment,

(b) progression programmes for young people,

(c) support for progression and retention of people with an acquired disability, and

(d) innovative employer initiatives.

The outcomes of these projects will be crucial in determining the optimum approaches to be taken in relation to mainstreaming activation measures generally for people with disabilities.

In addition, the Department fund the WAM (Willing Able Mentoring) project the objective of which is to bring graduates and employers together to promote access to the labour market for graduates with disabilities.

In the meantime, the specific activation service managed by the Department - Intreo – is being extended nationwide in 2014 and is available to any person with a disability who wishes to avail of the service.

The Department is committed to supporting people with disabilities to participate more fully in society and to become more self-sufficient by providing supports that address barriers they may encounter in finding work and at work.