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

567. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the programmes and schemes in place to assist persons with a disability to enter or stay in employment in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46918/18]

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

My department is committed to helping more people with disabilities take up and sustain employment where there is a capacity and desire to do so.

To this end, the Department provides a range of employment related supports. These supports include:

- The Wage Subsidy Scheme, which is targeted at private sector employers, to encourage the employment of people with disabilities through the provision of financial incentives.

- The EmployAbility service, which is a specialist service (delivered under a contract arrangement in 23 locations around the country on behalf of the department) that works with the Department’s Intreo service. The service supports people with disabilities through the provision of dedicated job coach support. This service provides both pre-employment and in employment supports and assistance.

- The ‘Ability’ programme provides funding (via Pobal) to 27 organisations being funded to support young people (aged 15-29) with disabilities to move closer to the labour market through the provision of a range of person-centred supports. The programme will see some 2,600 young people with disabilities being supported over the next three years.

- A range of other employment support grants for people with disabilities are also provided, under the Reasonable Accommodation Fund. The reasonable accommodation fund is a demand-led scheme, expenditure arises in response to applications received. The fund is comprised of the Workplace Equipment Adaptation Grant, the Personal Reader Grant, the Job Interview Interpreter Grant and the Employee Retention Grant.

- The department also funds two AHEAD (Association for Higher Education Access and Disability) programmes 1) the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme and 2) the ‘Get Ahead’ programme which are designed as employment support programmes for graduates with disabilities.

- The Department also provides the Partial Capacity Benefit payment for those with a reduced capacity to work.

Under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy, the Department is progressively developing and improving its Intreo service for people with disabilities who wish to avail of the service on a voluntary basis. In such cases, the Jobseeker (person with a disability) who seeks support from their local Intreo Centre will have a meeting arranged with a case officer with a view to agreeing a suitable personal progression plan and in order to access the full range of supports available.

Expenditure in 2017 on these schemes and supports are set out in tabular form, below.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.