John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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1236. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding the implementation of the comprehensive employment strategy for persons with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46423/17]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The Comprehensive Employment Strategy (CES) for People with Disabilities (2015-2024) was developed in consultation with Government Departments, State Agencies, the National Disability Authority, the Disability Stakeholder Group and the National Disability Strategy Implementation Group, and adopted by Government in October 2015. The ten year strategy is a cross-Government approach co-ordinated by the Department of Justice and Equality and provides a roadmap to ensure that people with a disability who are able to and want to work are supported and enabled to do so.

As part of delivering on my Department’s commitment, an interdepartmental “Make Work Pay” group was established and its report, published earlier this year, included a number of recommendations designed to assist people with disabilities achieve their employment ambitions. In launching the report, the Government announced that people with a long-term disability payment who move off the payment to get a job will retain their free travel pass for a period of five years.

The Government has also accepted the report’s recommendation to dispense with the requirement that work be of a ‘rehabilitative nature’ for the disability allowance earnings disregard. This means that a report from a doctor is no longer required before commencing work and that the focus is on capacity rather than incapacity. The legislative provisions giving effect to this measure are included in the Social Welfare Pensions and Civil Registration Bill, 2017.

Other recommendations relate to extending the principle of early engagement to disability allowance and other disability payments. In keeping with the Government promise for a process of consultation with people with disabilities, their parents and the disability sector, my Department, with the assistance of a Make Work Pay Disability Stakeholders Focus Group and an independent external facilitator, has been co-designing an extensive consultation process about the Make Work Pay recommendations on early engagement. There has also been progress on ensuring a fast track return to welfare payments for people with disabilities, who having taken up or returned to work, are unable to continue in employment.

The Ability programme, which was launched in September 2017, is aimed at bringing young people with disabilities, who are not work-ready, closer to the labour market. The programme will promote employment prospects and meaningful social roles for young people with disabilities and in particular, young people who are distant from the labour market using a range of person-centred supports.

The focus of the programme will be on projects aimed at young people with disabilities (aged 15 – 29) and designed to assist in their transition from school to further education and employment. The funding for this programme will amount to some €10 million over a three year period and is co-funded by the Irish Exchequer and the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning operational programme, 2014-2020 (PEIL, 2014 – 20).

Also under the CES, my Department has in recent years rolled out its full Intreo service to people with disabilities who wish to avail of the service on a voluntary basis. In such cases, people with disabilities who present at an Intreo Centre will be offered an interview by an employment support officer with a view to agreeing a suitable progression plan.

In Budget 2018, I announced the introduction of the Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS). This is a new work experience scheme which will be available to jobseekers and other eligible cohorts including people with disabilities in receipt of disability allowance and blind person’s pension. Participation in YESS will be voluntary and the net weekly payment for a person working 30 hours per week will be €283.96. A designated case officer will liaise with the participant and the host organisation throughout the period of placement, which will generally be for 3 months, and each placement will involve defined learning and development outcomes for the participant.

Progress in implementing actions under the Strategy is regularly reported by the Department to the Comprehensive Employment Strategy Implementation Group. The Chair of this Group, Mr Fergus Finlay, presented his first progress report in March 2017. The report notes the work advanced by the Department to build the capacity of its Intreo service to better support persons with disabilities who want to pursue further education, training or work opportunities and the progress being made in upskilling staff to better support claimants with disabilities.

I hope this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.