Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

499. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the job activation programmes for persons with a disability; the expenditure on same; the estimated cost of increasing expenditure by 10% on each programme, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50911/17]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This Government is committed to helping more people with disabilities take up work where there is a capacity and willingness to do so.

To this end, the Department provides a range of work related supports. These supports include a wage subsidy scheme, targeted at employers, to encourage employment of people with disabilities. They also include funding for the EmployAbility service that works in tandem with the Department’s Intreo service to support people with disabilities, who wish to work, through the provision of a dedicated job coach. The Department also provides the partial capacity benefit payment for those with a reduced capacity to work. Other employment support grants for people with disabilities are also provided including a range of supports under the “reasonable accommodation fund”.

The expenditure for each of these schemes and supports in 2016 are set out in tabular form. The table also includes a column that estimates total costs if these were increased by a further 10 per cent.

The table does not include details of the new “Ability” programme, which was launched in September 2017. This programme has the aim of bringing young people with disabilities who are not work-ready closer to the labour market. The funding for this programme will begin in 2018 and is expected to amount to some €10 million over a three-year period.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.