Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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324. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if, in the event of a person in receipt of disability allowance taking up employment that places them above the means threshold, there is a period of time whereby they can return to receiving disability allowance without a new application if the employment is terminated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24198/17]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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A person on disability allowance may take up rehabilitative work and earn up to €120 per week without their payment being affected. Earnings of between €121 and €350 per week are assessed at 50% for means test purposes. If their weekly means exceed the statutory limit allowable under legislation for their family size then their payments are stopped.

In the event that a disability allowance claimant, having taken up work, finds that they are unable to continue with their employment and where the break in their DA claim is of a reasonably short duration, their payment is restored immediately upon confirmation of the cessation or reduction in employment but may be subject to review in the future as appropriate. However, where the break in eligibility is of a longer duration, it may be necessary to fully reassess eligibility before payment is restored in order to confirm that the conditions are still met.

Through the Comprehensive Employment Strategy (CES), the Government is committed to increasing the share of people with disabilities working in the open labour market, given that employment plays a key role in helping to ensure economic independence and offering the best protection against poverty. As part of delivering the CES, an interdepartmental group was set up to identify any significant disincentives for people with disabilities in taking up or returning to work. The findings and recommendations of this group are set out in the “Make Work Pay for People with Disabilities” report, which was recently published. One focus of the report is on appropriate support to be provided for people on a long-term disability payment who move off the payment to get a job. The report notes some level of concern among people with disabilities about what could happen if they take up a job which subsequently does not work out because of, say, the individual’s impairment or stamina levels, or as a result of a health relapse. In response, the report recommends that there should be a fast-tracked reinstatement of social welfare payments for people with disabilities who have returned to work, and who have subsequently had to leave their job within one year.

At the launch of the report, it was announced that protocols would be put in place by the Department of Social Protection to allow people to return seamlessly to a long-term disability payment, including disability allowance, if work doesn’t work out within a year. The report cited the first quarter of 2018 as the recommended implementation timeframe for this measure.

I hope this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.