Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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428. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that recipients of disability allowance, blind pension or invalidity pension who are on community employment schemes or undertaking further education and training have been excluded from the additional payment of €500; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59226/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My department acted very quickly to deliver the Disability Support Grant and other budget measures within an exceptionally short timeframe. Wherever possible, budget measures that are usually implemented in the January to March period of the year following a budget announcement, have been brought forward and implemented within a period of weeks. While this early issue of payments was very challenging it was possible to achieve for people paid directly off the Department’s own payment systems.

However, when undertaking training courses, recipients of Disability Allowance or Blind Pension move off the Department’s payment systems and transfer to a Department of Further, Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science funded Training Allowance. As a consequence, it was not possible to process early payment of the Disability Support Grant to these recipients in the same manner as was implemented in respect of people paid directly through the Department’s own systems.

I can confirm, however, that it is absolutely the intention that people on training courses, having previously been in receipt of a Disability Allowance payment or Blind Pension payment will receive the €500 Disability Support Grant.

Officials in my department are examining this issue in conjunction with their colleagues in the Department of Further, Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to ensure the payment is made to those who are on training courses as soon as possible.

In relation to Community Employment schemes, Community Employment is an active labour market programme designed to provide people with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.

Participation on the scheme is part time - 19.5 hours per week. Participants can also work outside of the 19.5 hours that they participate on Community Employment, and income from such employment does not affect their Community Employment payment rate.

The minimum rate of payment on a Community Employment scheme is €230.50. In addition, a participant may be eligible for payments in respect of any qualified dependent adult and children.

Community Employment participants are not eligible for the €500 disability lump sum. If a person in receipt of Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance or Blind Pension transfers to a Community Employment scheme, their payment ceases. They get paid in the form of a wage from the company that employs them.

As part of the measures announced in Budget 2023, Community Employment participants will see an increase of €17 being applied, increasing the minimum payment from €230.50 to €247.50 per week from January 2023.

In addition, weekly payments for qualified child dependents will increase by €2 to €50 for children aged 12 or over and to €40 for children aged up to 12.

A number of once off bonus payments were announced in Budget 2023, which will benefit eligible Community Employment participants, including a once off payment of €400 for those in receipt of the Fuel Allowance. These are in addition to the Autumn Cost of Living double week payment in October, the double payment of Child Benefit in November and the Christmas double payment in December 2022.