Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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555. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of the wage subsidy scheme in each of the years 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018; the number of workers supported by the scheme in the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22104/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The wage subsidy scheme (WSS) is an employment support to private sector employers, the objective of which is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and thereby increase the numbers of people with disabilities participating in the open labour market. The scheme provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability for between 21 and 39 hours per week under a contract of employment.

Table 1 sets out the information requested for the years 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018.

Table 1: WSS Expenditure

The WSS has been designed to provide on-going support for employers and their employees availing of the scheme, this is reflected in the participant numbers as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: WSS Participants

I hope this clarifies the issue for the deputy.