Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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88. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the work being done to address the anomalies that have arisen with the wage subsidy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62180/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support provided by my Department. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people through a subsidy.

Last year, my Department published a review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme following a public consultation to make the scheme more accessible and flexible for disabled people and their employers.

The review made six recommendations, including to reduce the minimum required hours of the scheme from 21 to 15. This was done from April 2024. The review also recommended expanding the scheme to include employers in the charity and voluntary sector, expansion to include employees in receipt of Partial Capacity Benefit, and to removing terms such as ‘productivity deficit’ from the scheme to better align the scheme with the social model of disability. These changes were made this year.

An additional €3.7 million has been allocated to implement the review’s recommendations.

In June, I formally launched the reformed Wage Subsidy Scheme together with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality and Minister of State for Disability. A six-week media campaign followed to raise awareness of this very beneficial scheme.

The final recommendation was to regularly review the subsidy rate. The recently published National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 also includes a commitment to examine an increase in the subsidy rate. The rate was reviewed in the context of Budget 2026. As a result, from April 2026:

• the two lower rates of €6.30 and €6.93 are being combined into one rate and increased to €7.50,
• the two middle rates of €7.56 and €8.19 are being combined and increased to €8.50, and
• the two higher rates of €8.82 and €9.45 are being combined and increased to €10.

Budget 2026 has also provided for the expansion of the scheme to people who acquire a disability while in employment, those who have a progressive or degenerative condition that worsens and to those who transfer from Invalidity Pension to Partial Capacity Benefit. This implements another commitment in the new strategy.

I expect that the improvements already made as a result of the review and those in Budget 2026 will increase participation in the scheme.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.