Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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585. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the rationale for preventing an individual who works in the public sector to apply for the work and access support grant considering that reasonable accommodations and supports are not guaranteed in the public sector and the offering of such supports for a public sector employee is down to internal budgetary restraints and not the individual’s needs. [7314/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides a wide range of employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers.

Work and Access is a set of supports to help remove or reduces barriers in the workplace for people with a disability. It is available to the private, community, not-for-profit, and voluntary sectors and the self-employed.

This scheme is funded by the Exchequer through my Department. As Public Sector bodies are already funded directly by the Exchequer, the costs for public sector workers who need reasonable accommodations should be met by their State-funded employer. I expect State employers to show leadership in this regard.

I can assure the Deputy that I will keep my department’s employment support schemes for people with disabilities under review, to ensure that they continue to meet their policy objectives. However, any potential changes to these schemes can only be considered in the wider budgetary and policy context.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.