Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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145. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the assistance he provides to jobseekers in receipt of payments under the disability allowance scheme seeking employment; the schemes available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16427/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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People with disabilities who wish to engage in employment, including those in receipt of Disability Allowance, may call to the local Intreo service or to their Local Employment service where they will receive an appointment with a case officer who will assist them in preparing a personal progression plan (PPP). PPPs are tailored to a person’s individual requirement so the customer will be referred to appropriate supports such as EmployAbility.

A caseworker working with a person with a disability can arrange access for that client to most of the range of services and programmes that are available to people on jobseekers’ payments. This includes access to programmes such as JobBridge, First Steps, Back to Education Allowance, and SOLAS training for unemployed people. Exceptions include the JobsPlus recruitment subsidy, the Momentum training intervention and Tús, all of which were specifically designed for long-term recipients of jobseeker payments.

In addition a person on Disability Allowance has the option of participation in Community Employment(CE). Eligibility requirements for people with disabilities are not as demanding as for other job seeker groups so as to encourage participation. Those on job-seekers’ payments generally must be aged over 25 and on a payment for a year or more. Effectively a person in receipt of DA who is aged 18 or over can be in receipt of their payment for 1 week and be eligible for CE.

EmployAbility, provides a supported employment service to assist people with a disability to secure and maintain a job in the open labour market. This service provides a range of supports, through 23 EmployAbility companies, on behalf of the DSP include the services Job Coaches who provide a range of supports tailored to the individual needs of a jobseeker.

My Department also provides, through the Wage Subsidy Scheme, financial incentives to employers, outside the public sector, to employ disabled people who work more than 21 hours per week. An employee must work a minimum of 21 hours per week up to a maximum of 39 hours per week. The rate of subsidy is €5.30 per hour and is based on the number of hours worked, giving a total annual subsidy available of €10,748 per annum based on 39 hour week. This payment is not time-limited and is paid for the full period of employment of the individual concerned.

Moreover my Department provides a range of employment supports for people with disabilities through the The Reasonable Accommodation Fund for the Employment of people with disabilities, comprising the Workplace Equipment and Adaptation Grant, the Personal Reader Grant, the Job Interview Interpreter Grant and the Employee Retention Grant.

A further scheme available through my Department, the Disability Awareness Training Support Scheme, provides funding so that employers can buy in Disability Awareness Training for their staff. The purpose of the training is to deliver clear and accurate information about disability and to address questions or concerns that employers and employees may have about working with people with disabilities.

I hope that this clarifies, for the Deputy, the comprehensive range of supports available from my Department.