Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Government recognises the importance of increasing participation in employment for persons with a disability and provides a wide range of income and work related supports through the Department of Social Protection. These supports play an important role in supporting increased participation in the labour force by people with disabilities.

The Department provides a range of specific employment-related supports for people with disabilities. These supports include the wage subsidy scheme (WSS), the EmployAbility (supported employment) service, the reasonable accommodation fund for the employment of people with disabilities and the disability awareness training scheme. For those who are in receipt of invalidity pension or illness benefit (for at least six months) and who feel they now have some capacity for work, the partial capacity benefit (PCB) scheme allows them to work and retain a portion of their social welfare payment.

In addition, now that the Intreo service is established, the Department is providing full activation support to people with disabilities who wish to avail of the service, initially, in ten locations. It is planned to expand the number of locations over time based on operational experience, but any person with a disability is at all times free to contact the Intreo service.

Unlike job-seekers where participation in activation measures through the Intreo service is mandatory, in the case of persons in receipt of disability/illness support payments, engagement with the Intreo service is on a voluntary basis. The Department is also currently considering how people with disabilities might best be included in the Momentum programme.

Therefore, taking account of the above I do not believe that persons with disabilities are discriminated against when they seek activation and employment opportunities on a par with their non-disabled peers.