Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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227. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of employees with a disability who applied for the wage subsidy scheme in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; the number of those who were not successful in their application over the same period; the number of those who were successful in their application over the same period; in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28940/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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228. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people with disabilities who availed of the wage subsidy scheme in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022; her Department's expenditure on the wage subsidy scheme over the same period; the average number of hours worked by participants in the wage subsidy scheme, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28941/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 227 and 228 together.

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 subsidised hours per week under a contract of employment. Since January 2022, the basic rate of subsidy is €6.30 per hour giving a total annual subsidy of €12,776 per annum based on a 39-hour week. The rate of the subsidy increases when an employer employs 3 WSS participants or more. The subsidy is paid to the employer. The current average number of hours worked by participants in the Wage Subsidy Scheme is 31 hours per week.

Over the past five years, the Wage Subsidy Scheme has paid just under €101 million to employers. The following table provides a breakdown of the Wage Subsidy Scheme drawn down by employers per year, the number of employers availing of the scheme and the number of WSS participants.

* Estimated as Appropriation accounts for 2022 not yet finalised.

The scheme funding drawn down by employers from March 2020 is significantly reduced due to the Covid Pandemic as employers in receipt of the Revenue Employer Wage Subsidy Scheme could not claim the disability Wage Subsidy Scheme payments concurrently.

The Covid Pandemic also had an impact on the Wage Subsidy Scheme applications this Department received from March 2020 as a result of the emergency measures introduced.

* Clean-up following transfer of WSS to new system identified some historic disallowed applications.

I hope this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.