Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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440. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current employment rate for people with disabilities. [36204/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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According to recent results from Census 2022, there are almost 1,109,557 people or 22% of the population living with a disability in Ireland. Furthermore, it shows that there is a large employment gap between disabled people and those without a disability. Census 2022 data show that 56% of the total population was working, but only 37% of people with a long-lasting health condition were employed.

The Department of Social Protection, through its nationwide network of Intreo centres, provides a case managed employment service for jobseekers with disabilities. The person works with an Employment Personal Advisor with a view to agreeing a suitable personal progression plan in order to access the full range of employment supports available. There are a number of supports available to help disabled people into employment and self-employment. Early Engagement is a process targeted at recipients of a disability payment whereby the Public Employment Service actively engages with people with disabilities at the earliest opportunity, on a voluntary basis, offering supports to assist them in achieving their employment ambitions.

The Department contracts specialist employment services, called EmployAbility, to provide both pre-employment and in-employment support and assistance for disabled people and a recruitment and job matching service for employers.

In December 2023, I announced a new programme to support the employment of people with disabilities under the new ESF+ funding. WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme has an overall budget of up to €36.29 million and will run from January 2024 to December 2028. The programme aims to support up to 13,000 disabled people progress their training and employment ambitions over its lifetime and will be delivered by 56 local and community organisations nationwide.

Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are structured to support recipients to avail of work opportunities including self-employment. An income disregard of €165 per week is applied with 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 also disregarded.

The Partial Capacity Benefit scheme allows a person who has been in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit and who may not have full capacity for work, to enter or return to employment and continue to receive a partial or full payment.

The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, also offered through my department, supports people to take up self-employment opportunities while keeping a percentage of their social welfare payment for up to two years.

The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a subsidy for private sector employers to encourage the employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market. My Department has just finalised a review of the scheme. In anticipation of recommendations in the review, I made provision in Budget 2024 to decrease the minimum hours from 21 to 15 hours from 1st April this year. The Review makes recommendations to expand and improve the scheme, including expanding it to employers outside the private sector. My Department will work over the coming months to implement the recommendations in the report. The updated scheme will be in place from January 2025.

The are a range of Government supports and processes in place to engage with and support people with disabilities to both identify their employment ambitions and to assist them in achieving these ambitions. My Department will continue to keep these supports under review to ensure that they help to improve employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.