Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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405. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his Department's total expenditure under the community employment scheme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the number of participating employees under the scheme by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40644/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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406. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of participants on the community employment scheme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the total funding allocated to each county in the corresponding period, in tabular form. [40645/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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407. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annual average cost per participant under the community employment scheme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40646/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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408. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of new participants joining the community employment scheme in each county in each year of the programme’s existence, and the corresponding new funding allocated, in tabular form. [40647/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 405, 406, 407 and 408 together.

As the Deputy is aware the Community Employment Scheme (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.

CE projects are in diverse areas and include the development, regeneration and enhancement of community spaces, environmental maintenance, early years, and after-school supports, heritage, arts, culture, tourism, sport, recycling and repair of equipment, visitation, friendly call, and befriending programmes for older people.

There are currently 19,618 participants and 1,217 Supervisors on 809 CE schemes. Government investment in CE will amount to nearly €370 million in 2025.

The information requested by the Deputy is not held in the department, so it is not possible to provide a detailed response to the questions. Information on the cost per participant, or the number of entries onto the scheme per county is not held in the department. Details on participant numbers and overall expenditure on CE are published in the annual statistics reports.

The Annual Statistical Report in respect of 2024 is available at, www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/publications/2024-annual-statistics-report/ as is an archive of reports for each year from 1998 onwards.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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409. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his Department's total expenditure under the Tús community work placement initiative, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the number of participating employees under the initiative, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40648/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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410. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of participants on the Tús community work placement initiative by county in each year of the programme’s existence; and the total funding allocated to each county in the corresponding period, in tabular form. [40649/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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411. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annual average cost per participant under the Tús community work placement initiative, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40650/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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412. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of new participants joining the Tús community work placement initiative in each county in each year of the programme’s existence; and the corresponding new funding allocated, in tabular form. [40651/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 409, 410, 411 and 412 together.

Tús commenced in July 2011, as a targeted activation measure, and is delivered by 47 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta, known as Implementing Bodies (IBs). IBs are allocated places based on the geographic distribution of people who are unemployed for more than a year. The scheme provides short-term, quality work opportunities in the community and voluntary sectors for those who are unemployed for more than a year.

There are currently 4,655 participants and 232 Supervisors on the Tús scheme. There is a budget in the region of €84m available for Tús in 2025.

The information requested by the Deputy is not held in the department, so it is not possible to provide a detailed response to the questions. Information on the cost per participant, or the number of entries onto the scheme per county is not held. Details on participant numbers and overall expenditure on Tús are published in the annual statistics reports.

The Annual Statistical Report in respect of 2024 is available at, www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/publications/2024-annual-statistics-report/, as is an archive of reports for each year from 2011, when the Tús scheme commenced.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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413. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his Department's total expenditure under the wage subsidy scheme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the number of participating employees under the scheme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40652/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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416. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of participants on the wage subsidy scheme by county in each year of the programme’s existence; and the total funding allocated to each county in the corresponding period, in tabular form. [40658/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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419. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annual average cost per participant under the wage subsidy scheme by county in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40661/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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422. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of new participants joining the wage subsidy scheme in each county in each year of the programme’s existence; and the corresponding new funding allocated, in tabular form. [40664/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 413, 416, 419 and 422 together.

The Wage Subsidy Scheme supports employers to hire people with disabilities through a subsidy.

The 2024 Annual Statistics Report details expenditure over the last ten years. Expenditure is recorded at the scheme level, not the individual level. Accordingly, it is not possible to attribute expenditure at a county level.

There were 2,466 participants on the scheme at end 2024 and there are 2,508 participants on the scheme at end June 2025.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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415. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his Department's expenditure under the back-to-education allowance, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the number of participants receiving the allowance, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40657/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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418. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of back-to-education allowance recipients, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the total funding allocated to each county in the corresponding period, in tabular form. [40660/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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421. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annual average back-to-education allowance payment, per participant and by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40663/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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424. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of new participants entering the back-to-education allowance scheme in each county in each year of the programme’s existence; and the corresponding new funding allocated, in tabular form. [40666/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 415, 418, 421 and 424 together.

Back to Education Allowance was established in 1998, and is available to jobseekers, lone parents, and people with disabilities, who are taking part in further education or higher education courses.

Details on recipient numbers and expenditure on the scheme since 1998 are available through the Department's Annual Statistics report which has been published and is available on the Department's website on www.gov.ie under the Department of Social Protection's annual statistics report archive. A link to this webpage is as follows: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/organisation-information/social-protection-annual-statistics-report-archive/,

The most recent Department of Social Protection Annual Statistics Report in the series was the 2024 Annual Statistics Report which was published a few weeks ago. This report is available under the Department's recent publication section of its website on www.gov.ie.

Recipient and expenditure figures for all years since 1998, including a breakdown of recipients by county, are available in these reports.

The breakdown of recipients by county for 2024 was also published.

The 2024 Annual Statistics Report also details expenditure over the last ten years. Expenditure is recorded at the scheme level, not the individual level. Accordingly, it is not possible to attribute expenditure to each county. Funding for the scheme is centrally allocated. The average weekly payment for Back to Education Allowance in 2024 was €272, while the average weekly payment for 2025, as of the end of June was €275.

Finally, the number of new claims awarded annually, from 2018 onwards, is also available from the 2024 Annual Statistics Report.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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417. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of organisations funded under the WorkAbility programme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the total funding allocated to each county in the corresponding period, in tabular form. [40659/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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414. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his Department's total expenditure under the WorkAbility programme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence; and the number of organisations supported under the programme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40653/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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420. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the annual average grant per organisation under the WorkAbility programme, by county, in each year of the programme’s existence, in tabular form. [40662/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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423. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of new organisations funded under the WorkAbility programme in each county in each year of the programme’s existence; and the corresponding new funding allocated, in tabular form. [40665/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 417, 414, 420 and 423 together.

In December 2023, my Department established the WorkAbility programme. It is co-financed with the EU Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training programme. It aims to support people with disabilities into employment through 57 local, regional and national projects, in 19 counties. The programme aims to support over 13,000 disabled people over its lifetime and there are currently 57 organisations participating in the programme.

The table below shows the annual average grant by county per year.