Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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848. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the details of the uptake and funding rates of the disability awareness support scheme between 2017 and 2021, in tabular form. [30609/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Disability Awareness Support Scheme (DASS Grant) provides a contribution towards the cost of disability awareness training for private sector employers. The training to be delivered must, for example, provide clear and accurate information about disability, address questions that employers/employees may have, and cover anti-discrimination / equal opportunities legislation. The value of the grants available is as set out below:

The various grants available are promoted through, for example, the Department's employer engagement activities, by contractors delivering LES and Employability services and by the new ‘Employers for Change’ service (launched in March 2021 and funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth – this service aims to deliver a national employer disability information service. Full details of this service are available at www.employersforchange.ie).

The number of employers who availed of DASS funding since 2017 and the value of the grants provided is set out in tabular form beneath:

It is important to note that the DASS grant is demand-led funding, that is value of the grants provided is linked to the number of applications received.