Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Green Paper on Disability Reform is my department’s response to our commitment under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion to develop and consult on proposals to restructure long-term disability payments and to simplify the system.

The Green Paper is a consultation document we developed to start a structured discussion with disabled people and stakeholder groups on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It is not a final reform design. The proposals represent a starting point for a structured discussion on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. They are intended to invite discussion, debate and suggestions.

It is important to highlight that under the proposals nobody will lose their payment or have their payment reduced. The objective is to increase people’s payments and provide more employment supports for those who can and want to work.

I am very mindful of our commitment under Article 4(3) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to consult closely with and actively involve disabled people and their representative groups in changes to policies and services that will impact them.

Thus, my officials engaged with a number of disability stakeholders and Disabled Persons' Organisations to ensure that the consultation process is as accessible as possible. The Department incorporated stakeholders’ feedback and published the Green Paper in plain English, easy-to-read, and screen reader friendly formats. It is also available on request in two Braille formats. We also took the recommendations of stakeholders on board regarding video submissions to allow for people whose first language is Irish Sign Language to submit their views to us, and their input regarding the importance of hybrid and regional events.

I launched the Green Paper and the associated wide-scale public consultation on 20th September, at which I met a number of stakeholder organisations as part of a briefing session. I also held a consultation event with stakeholders on 18th October.

Further consultation events are taking place in Dublin Castle on 9th November, in Cork on 14th November and in Athlone on 23rd November. These are open to disability groups, Disabled Persons' Organisations and members of the public. Invitations have been shared with over 100 organisations. Registration for these events is already open to all via Eventbrite. Depending on demand, my officials are happy to add more locations and more consultation events to this event series.

In addition, individuals and groups are welcome to make a submission until 15 December. They can do this in writing or by video in Irish Sign Language through our web page. My officials have already received over 120 submissions which will feed into the final reform design.

I would further ask you to encourage those you represent to make their voices heard. It is essential that we hear from as many disabled people and representatives as possible. I can assure everyone that their voices will be heard. I engaged in similar consultations on pay-related benefit and pensions auto-enrolment which led to the revision of some key features. The same will apply here.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government committed as part of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion to develop and consult on proposals to restructure long-term disability payments and to simplify the system. The proposals developed are set out in the Green Paper on Disability Reform. This was published on the 20th September and marked the start of the consultation process.

The Green Paper is a consultation document. It is not a final reform design. The Paper’s purpose is to invite discussion and suggestions.

I am very mindful of our commitment under Article 4(3) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to consult closely with and actively involve disabled people and their representative groups on changes that will impact them. Thus, we will be holding public consultation events in Dublin Castle on 9 November, in Cork on 14 November and in Athlone on 23 November. These are open to members of the public, Disabled Persons’ Organisations and disability groups.

It is essential to the consultation process that the department hears from as many people as possible and ensures that people have ample time to submit their responses is integral to this process. My officials consulted with stakeholders in advance of the launch of the Green Paper and they requested a period of 12 weeks to enable meaningful consultation with their members.

The current deadline is the 15th December, thereby allowing the 12 weeks as requested by stakeholders, but I am open to extending the consultation period if needed. My department has previously accommodated requests for extensions for public consultations, so the Deputy can be assured that people will have sufficient time to have their say.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My department provides a range of income and employment supports for people with disabilities. These supports remain under review by my department, as we look to national and international best practice to improve them.

As part of our commitments under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy, my department carried out a review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme.

The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial supports to jobseekers and employees with a disability and their employers to make workplaces accessible. The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides a contribution towards the cost of disability awareness training for private sector employers.

My department undertook a focused policy review comprising of a literature and expenditure review, an international comparison, and a comprehensive public consultation, which received strong stakeholder engagement.

The review was published in August 2023. It recommends combining the two schemes, simplifying the application process, and extending scheme eligibility and funding. Under Budget 2023, I allocated an additional €1 million to expand the scheme and implement these recommendations. The new, single scheme is expected to launch in early 2024.

My department is also currently reviewing the Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS), which included a four-week public consultation in June 2023 that received over 1,000 submissions. The WSS offers financial incentives to private sector employers to employ people with disabilities.

I expect to receive the completed report of the review over the coming months. Under Budget 2024, I allocated an additional €3.7 million to expand the scheme by reducing the minimum required hours from 21 to 15 hours. Research shows that lowering the minimum required hours will make the scheme more accessible by allowing for more flexible jobs. Administrative and IT work is underway to implement this change by April 2024. Any further revisions to the scheme will be carried out in the context of the recommendations contained in the report.

My officials review relevant international and national research into the barriers preventing people with disabilities from accessing employment on an ongoing basis. An extensive literature review was carried out in advance of preparing the proposals in the Green Paper on Disability Reform.

The Green Paper’s key proposal is to introduce a new tiered disability payment with associated employment supports.

This proposal takes into consideration the recommendations of Indecon’s Cost of Disability report, commissioned by this department. The report found that there is no single, typical cost of disability. Rather, income supports should be differentiated by need and government policy should facilitate employment among those who can work.

The proposed tiered system would work in tandem with my department’s employment supports to ensure that those who can and want to work can reach their employment ambitions.

I would like to emphasise that the Green Paper is not a final design. It is only a starting point for discussion on the future of long-term disability payments.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.