Vol. 1041 No. 5
110. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to extending the number of home-caring periods a foster carer can accrue throughout the years they foster in order for them to be able to claim a State pension (contributory); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33074/23]
Has the Minister given any consideration to extending the number of home caring periods a foster carer can accrue throughout the year as he or she fosters in order to be able to claim a contributory State pension? We all know of the great contribution made by foster carers who take children, who sometimes are coming from incredibly difficult situations, into their homes. I had an interaction with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth regarding certain other conditions that need improving but this is work we can definitely do to facilitate these carers. It is absolutely necessary.
I thank the Deputy for the question. Matters relating to foster caring are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and of Tusla.
This Government acknowledges the important role played by carers, including foster carers, and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current contributory State pension system provides measures including PRSI credits, homemaking disregards and home caring periods to recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate. Foster carers are entitled to the benefits of the homemakers scheme or home caring periods, and will qualify if the carer is in receipt of child benefit. If the foster carer is not in receipt of child benefit, they can still qualify for homemaker’s scheme or home caring periods provided the caring periods are confirmed by Tusla.
Despite these measures, some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the contributory State pension. For example, they may have difficulty establishing the minimum number of ten years of paid contributions. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, announced a series of landmark reforms to the State pension system in September 2022, in response to the recommendations of the Commission on Pensions. An important reform agreed by the Government is enhanced State pension provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependants for more than 20 years. It will do this by attributing the equivalent of a paid contribution to long-term carers to cover gaps in their contribution records. Foster carers who have cared for an incapacitated dependant or dependants for more than 20 years will also benefit from this important change. My officials are currently working to implement these reforms.
I welcome what the Minister of State has said. We need this enacted as soon as possible. When I dealt earlier with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, it was particularly in relation to the foster carer allowance, which has not been increased since 2009. It related to the travel expenses, and there is obviously an onus on foster carers to maintain that connection with families. We all know the added expense in the current period. It seems that promises are being made relating to delivery on these, and what I hear from the Minister of State's response is that we are moving in the correct direction. I say the sooner the better for the huge contribution provided by foster carers. Faster, quicker, better is the easiest way I can put it.
I thank the Chair for allowing me in. I want to speak on this subject. I welcome what has been said, and I hope it means foster carers will be eligible for pensions after this. It needs to happen as soon as possible. I met a group of foster carers in County Mayo on Monday, and what they told me was quite shocking, particularly with regard to foster carers looking after children with complex needs. They do not want to have to give up on those children, but they are fighting to try to get the different services and supports for them and it is driving their families into poverty. This is the case in particular where the natural parents live miles away. If the foster carers live in County Mayo and the original parents live in County Limerick or County Dublin, or wherever, the foster carers also have to bear the cost of that travel. There are several issues there, because we do not want to be in a situation where we end up with a limited number of foster carers. I am concerned about the number of foster carers who are about to give up on foster care. I commend them on the job they do.
I should allow the Minister of State to respond. That would be fair.
I reiterate and back up what has been said about the important role played by foster carers, and also the difficult job they have at times, often with challenging young people. I have some familiarity with the system. A lot of what is being spoken about will go to the main Department with primary responsibility for foster carers' support. It is important to reiterate that between child benefit, the homemakers scheme, home caring periods and the new development for incapacitated dependants, this Department is doing what it can to ensure foster carers are able to accumulate PRSI contributions now, in order that they are looked after in the future when it comes to pensions. It is also worth noting when it comes to the number of children in care in the country that Ireland is one of the lead countries in the world when it comes to the percentage of children in foster families. That is a good thing. We need to do everything we can to maintain that percentage, and grow it too.
I welcome what the Minister of State has said. It is an acceptance that we do not have enough foster carers. We need a lot more, so we need to deal with all of these issues. I accept that the Minister of State's Department deals with a particular part of this, but the main play is with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I assume all of the necessary conversations are happening. We know there have been particular issues over the years relating to the length of time for payment of child benefit, the back to school allowance and other issues. Dealing with this pension issue is vital, alongside the real business end, from our point of view, that needs to be delivered as regards the allowance, travel expenses and all of that. Will the Minister of State give a timeline as to when the changes from the Commission on Pensions will be enacted? That is when the rubber will hit the road, because that would be vital.
There is a lot happening in the pensions place in terms of auto-enrolment. There are a lot of big projects going on too. We are looking at legislation for that, and it could be next year before we see a lot of the big changes. That is a broad response to the specific question asked by the Deputy. Between child benefit, the homemakers scheme, the home caring periods and this new measure, I would be hopeful that all foster carers will be covered in terms of PRSI contributions. If that is not the case, it is important that we hear about it in terms of our responsibility. I suppose I also have the advantage of having a foot in the other Department the Deputy has referred to. I will certainly speak to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, about this issue too.
I think the key to all of this is that the Departments interlink and work together to look at these families in a holistic manner. Some of the foster parents I have spoken to are being forced to go back to work, because there are gaps in their payments that will not ensure them a pension in the future. If it can be brought together in a holistic manner, that would be good.
The Deputy got an extra shot at it there, but the point is well made. I absolutely take the point.
111. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the actions she will take to address the alarming increase in the number of retired people at risk of poverty as in the public service performance report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33174/23]
This is my real question. The public service performance report made for stark reading. It shows an alarming rise in the number of retired people at risk of poverty in 2022. It is deeply concerning that one in five retired people is now at risk of poverty. What new actions is the Minister taking to address this alarming increase in the number of older and retired people at risk of poverty?
I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her question. A core objective of my Department is the reduction of poverty. The at-risk-of-poverty rate is a relative income poverty measure, tracking the national equivalised median income as it rises and falls. In other words, it compares each person's income to the income of the person in the middle of the income distribution. For a person to be assessed as at risk of poverty, their equivalised income must be lower than 60% of this median value.
This also means that if median incomes rise faster than the rate of inflation, as they have in Ireland, more people can be reported as being at risk of poverty even if the value of their own income is maintained in real terms. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, reports an inflation-adjusted measure to account for this effect. In Ireland, what is known as the anchored at risk of poverty, which is the measure that tracks inflation, fell from 13.2% in 2020 to 9.1% in the 2022 survey on income and living conditions, SILC. It is also important to note that the 2022 SILC data are based on income from the 2021 calendar year and, as a result, are considerably out of date. They do not include or reflect the very significant increases and improvements for pensioners introduced by the Government in budgets 2022 and 2023, and in a series of cost-of-living measures.
These increases and improvements included a total €17 increase in the weekly rate of State pension payment since 2022, along with a double payment in October 2022, the Christmas bonus in December 2022 and an additional €200 lump sum paid in April 2023.
For those in receipt of the living alone increase, fuel allowance or carer’s support grant, further one-off lump-sum payments were made. The fuel allowance scheme was also expanded through improvements to the means test for those aged over 70. These households would also have benefited from the electricity credit scheme. This Government has already responded in a big way to cost pressures faced by older people and we will continue to do so in the context of the forthcoming budget. I trust this clarifies the matter.
It seems the Minister is refuting these figures but-----
-----the percentage of older and retired people at risk of poverty has gone from 11.9% to 19.1%, as of last week. Pre-pandemic, one in ten retired people was at risk of poverty. In 2022, this spiked to one in every five people. I do not think we can ignore these figures. I know statistics mean statistics but at the end of the day, we have elderly people who are struggling. There were a number of once-off payments but many of these did not kick in until January, so people had to go through the winter months without them.
I will give the Minister an example. We talked earlier about joined-up thinking. Someone from Belmullet or elsewhere in County Mayo who needs to access hospital services in Galway can use the entire weekly pension to fund travel to that hospital appointment. The whole payment will be wiped out for a week. I understand what the Minister is saying about the extra payments, and I acknowledge them, but these often go into one pocket and are then taken out of the other pocket.
To clarify what was paid, in 2022, a single retired person on the contributory State pension received €200 in electricity credit in April 2022 and a €125 lump-sum payment was made to those receiving fuel allowance, as well as a €100 lump-sum payment to households in receipt of lump-sum payments. That gives a total of €225, with one payment in March and one in May. In the autumn, then, we had a double weekly payment of €253. This was paid in October 2022. There was also a €200 electricity credit in November 2022, as well as a fuel allowance lump-sum payment of €400 and a living alone allowance lump-sum payment of €200, and then a 100% Christmas bonus, which amounted to another €253. In the spring of this year, another €200 electricity credit was paid in January, a €200 electricity credit was paid in March and a €200 lump-sum payment was made to the primary recipients of long-term social welfare payments in April. When we add up all these payments, from spring last year until now, we get a total of €2,331.60 in additional payments. This is the weekly equivalent of €44.83. We can have statistics, figures and everything else, but the bottom line is there is more money in people's pockets to pay the bills. That is what I am about here.
In the context of the public service performance report, the statistics on income and living conditions, SILC, data used were from 2021, so nothing that came in during 2022 or in 2023 was included. I will, however, look at these things of course. I will meet the stakeholders on Monday week to hear what they will have to say regarding the budget. I recognise it is important that we have the core payments but these top-up or lump-sum payments have made a difference to people. As I said, we will continue to keep them all under review.
If those payments were not provided, the figures would be even starker. The Minister cited a figure of €44 weekly but she knows what it takes when people do their shopping, pay extra medical expenses and everything else that goes with the rising cost of living and inflation. The Government this week published the summer economic statement, which states on the first page that there was "little, if any, evidence of [economic] ‘scarring’ from [recent] shocks". I would call record waiting lists and homelessness deep scars. What is also happening is that where people cannot access basic medical care, they must try to find or borrow money to try to get it. One system is feeding into the other in respect of the expense it is costing people to live.
Celebrating gross domestic product, GDP, and tax revenues is tone-deaf when people are struggling more than ever with the cost of living. The success of the economy is measured in how it cares for its people. We must see what the reality is like. It is not only to be seen in respect of fuel poverty but also in fuel deprivation. We are in July but we will be heading into the winter again before too long. We are already conscious of the number of people who are scared to put on their heating and live in the way they should be living, enjoying a quality of life. This is because they are scared of not having the money or of having to borrow and then owe money.
Regarding fuel, I expanded the fuel allowance to the over 70s and increased the means test to €500 for single people and €1,000 for a couple. This has brought many more older people into the net where they can benefit from the fuel allowance. I do not want to see any old person being afraid to turn on the heating. This is not where we want to be. Extensive renovations are being carried out now on many homes to improve their energy efficiency. There are the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grants, as well as those available through the local authorities for people who have disabilities and those older people who also need essential repairs to their houses.
By the way, the €44.83 is only the weekly increase for the lump-sum payments. This does not include the €12 weekly increase in January last year, which brings the amount up to €56 weekly. As I said, this is about putting money in pockets. I know the cost of living requires a lot of money. I also know what it is like in rural Ireland. In counties Cavan and Monaghan, we have an excellent Local Link service which is putting on services to bring people to hospitals. We had a group of people up from Monaghan last week, from the Cancer Resource of Caring, Understanding and Support, CROCUS, group. Through CLÁR funding, my Department was able to provide money for a vehicle and this allows the group to bring people to hospital appointments. We should be looking at this aspect to try to support people because it is not easy when they are sick and need to get to hospital.
113. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if all social welfare payments will be increased in line with inflation in the forthcoming budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33170/23]
I will ask the Minister a simple question. Does she agree that all social welfare payments should be increased at least in line with the rate of inflation in the forthcoming budget? The Government did not do this in the last budget and the result has been that the poorest people in our society got poorer as a consequence of the decisions the Government made. These consequences are that more people are in deprivation, at risk of poverty and using food banks.
I am acutely aware, as everyone is, of the pressures faced by households given increases in the cost of living. Thankfully, this Government's management of the Irish economy means that even in the face of challenging international conditions, we have the capacity to respond, and we have responded. Last September, I announced the largest social protection budget in the history of the State comprising measures worth almost €2.2 billion. This budget did not take the approach of simply increasing payment rates in line with inflation. Instead, it provided a combination of eight lump-sum payments and a €12 across-the-board increase in weekly rates, which was the largest such increase since the mid-2000s. In addition, it continued the practice adopted in recent years to provide targeted, above-inflation increases in key payments. As the Deputy will be aware, we have particularly focused in recent budgets on increasing qualified child payments, fuel allowance payments and living alone payments, as well as the income thresholds on working family and lone parent payments as these have been shown to have the greatest impact in reducing poverty.
Independent analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, found that budget 2023, in following this approach, delivered for lower income households, which were found to be better off than if they had just received an inflation-indexed increase in basic rates. This analysis indicates that a simple, inflation-adjusted increase in rates is not necessarily the best approach and, in fact, that targeted measures can be more effective in alleviating poverty and addressing cost-of-living pressures. Accordingly, as Minister, I will continue to examine the evidence produced by organisations such as the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice to inform how the social welfare budget package should be constructed. As the Deputy may be aware, the work of the Vincentian Partnership is funded by my Department.
The Deputy may also be aware that the Department runs a pre-budget forum every year at which stakeholders and advocacy groups, including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Barnardos and others, have an opportunity to meet me and present their proposals for measures they would like to see included in the budget. This year's forum is being held on 19 July. Decisions about budget 2024 will be made in the coming months and will take account of the analysis and recommendations put forward by these stakeholders. It goes without saying that, in working with my ministerial colleagues, I will seek to respond to changes in the cost of living. We have not been found wanting so far and we will not be found wanting in the future.
The Government has been found wanting. More people are at risk of poverty, using food banks and in deprivation. That is the consequence of the Government's decision to increase social welfare rates and so on by less than the rate of inflation, along with lots of other decisions it has made. The Minister referred to the increase of €12, or 5.7%, in the latest budget. Inflation last year was 8.1% and it was running at 6.6% to May this year. As the Minister will undoubtedly know, the real rate of inflation for the poorer sections of society is actually significantly higher than that because they spend a much higher proportion of their income on groceries for which the rate of inflation is higher. For example, the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice estimates that the increase in the minimum essential standard of living in 2023 will be 10%. Those are the kinds of increases we need if we do not want to push people even further into poverty.
I think that any fair-minded person would agree that this Government has, since its formation in 2020, provided unprecedented supports to protect people and families, first through the pandemic and then with the cost of living.
I will just give Deputy Murphy an example. We can all get tied up in statistics but what I want to see is money in pockets. If we take a lone parent with a 12-year-old child, the once-off spring-summer payments came to a total of €525, whether that was the electricity credit or the lump-sum payment for those in receipt of the fuel allowance. In autumn, we had the double weekly payment, another €200 electricity credit, a lump-sum fuel allowance payment of €400, a double monthly payment of child benefit, a working family lump-sum payment of €500, and a 100% Christmas bonus. That adds up to €1,700. In spring, there was a €200 electricity credit in January, another one in March, a €200 lump-sum payment to primary recipients of the long-term social welfare payments, including the working family payment, a €100 child benefit that was paid last month and a €100 extra payment for each child for whom the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance is to be paid in 2023. When we add all that up we get the equivalent of €59 per week. When we add to that another €12 increase in the one-parent family payment, which was across the board, and a €2 increase in the qualified child payment, it brings the rate to €50 for over 12s. I am talking about money in people's pockets and they needed every penny they got. I am under no illusions in that regard. What I want to do in the budget is to listen to the stakeholders and put a budget package together that targets those most in need.
The Government prioritised once-off payments. The vast majority of the payments the Minister listed are once-off but the price increases are permanent. They are not going to go down. Groceries are not going to decrease in price to where they were a couple of years ago. If inflation goes down, prices do not go down. It is just that the rate of increase is reduced. Unless the Minister actually matches social welfare payments to the inflation that people in the most deprived sections of our communities are feeling, the consequence will be that more and more people will be pushed into poverty.
The Minister says she wants to see money in people's pockets. That is great. I want to see money in people's pockets, but the best way to do that is to increase the money going into their pockets through social welfare payments. If we do not do that, we are just pushing people further and further into crisis.
This is real. The Barnardos survey at the end of last year shows that the number of parents using food banks doubled over the course of the year. One in ten parents used them. That is an horrific reality, and a very large proportion of those people are obviously reliant on entirely inadequate social welfare payments.
If we are going to compare statistics, analysis by the ESRI shows that, combined with the increase in the core social welfare payment rates, these lump sums effectively compensated lower income households for price increases and, in fact, were more effective than an index-linked increase in core rates. I reiterate that what I want to see is money in people's pockets when they need it to pay the bills and put food on the table.
Deputy Murphy mentioned food banks. People who cannot put food on the table should talk to their community welfare officer. That is what the additional needs payment is there for. It is the State's safety net and it is available to anybody who needs it. I encourage people to use it. If someone does not want to go to a community welfare officer, the service can be contacted online as well.
The money needed to fund these measures was available due to sound economic management by this Government, which has contributed to historically low levels of unemployment. The Government has already clearly stated that it is keeping the cost of living under review. It has acted as necessary time and again. I will be listening to all the stakeholders on 19 July and, as with every other year, I will work with my Government colleagues to put together a package to support people on social welfare payments that targets those most in need.
114. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline an engagement her Department has had with other Government agencies and Departments in relation to the problems faced by workers who live in the North, work for southern-based companies and wish to work from home, and if the issue will be included in the considerations for budget 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33075/23]
Will the Minister outline the engagement her Department has had with other Government agencies and Departments on the problems being faced by workers who live in the North but work in companies based in the South and who may wish to work from home or engage in remote working. The example I use is PayPal, which closed its premises. Its employees who live in the North had to be transferred to PayPal UK although they had availed of benefits in the South and all the rest of it.
I call the Minister to reply.
We need a solution that works across the board but the Department of Social Protection has a part to play.
Responsibility for Government policy on remote working lies with my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. As the Deputy may be aware, under current social security arrangements, it is open to workers resident in Northern Ireland who are working with a southern-based company to work from home one day per week and to remain attached to the PRSI system here. If they work two days or more from home in Northern Ireland, they will generally be subject to UK social security legislation.
My Department co-operates with the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland on the Cross Border Partnership Employment Services, CBPES. CBPES provides information to workers and jobseekers on employment-related issues on both sides of the Border. The other organisations represented on the partnership are the Confederation of British Industry, CBI, the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, IBEC, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and the union, Unite.
If the Deputy is aware of issues that cross-Border workers face in the context of social security arrangements, I ask him to please forward those specific details to my Department and I will request officials to look into the matter. As policy responsibility for the wider issues referred to by the Deputy are not within the remit of my Department, this matter is not being considered by it for budget 2024. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
In fairness to the Minister, she is not the only member of the Government I have put this question to. I raised it with the Taoiseach earlier this week, and not for the first time. This issue needs to be taken to Cabinet level and addressed. I accept it is beyond the Minister's remit but there is a need for HMRC and Revenue to have fully-fledged conversations on providing a solution. The Minister mentioned some of the stakeholders, including Dundalk Chamber of Commerce. I am fairly sure this is an issue that it has raised in particular. It is a problem for those working on either side of the Border and for those who work on the other side of the Border.
I used the PayPal example because those employees had no choice. They had to be moved. I ask the Minister and other Cabinet members to come up with some sort of proposal on this. It will need some sort of an agreement with the British Government. That may be more possible now than it was previously. I would like it to be dealt with at Cabinet level.
During Covid, it was agreed across the EU that teleworkers could work from home all the time and remain paying their social insurance contributions in the state of their employer. This temporary agreement has now ended and a new voluntary framework agreement for teleworking has been drafted by the administrative council, which is responsible for co-ordinating social security across the EU. The agreement, which EU member states can voluntarily sign up to, allows teleworking rates to increase from 25% to 50% without having to change where a person's social security contributions are paid.
The UK has indicated that it will not sign this agreement and so it will not relate to those working across the Border. I am on the Border too, like Deputy Ó Murchú. The truth is that most workers on the Border want to avail of our social welfare supports and child benefit because they are much higher here than on the other side. I can understand why they want to do that. The UK has indicated that it is not going to sign this agreement and so it will not apply to those working along the Border. My officials are consulting with other Departments on whether Ireland should sign up. However, even if Ireland does, it will not apply where the other state is a non-signatory. Given the UK's stated position, it will not apply in the situation the Deputy is talking about.
It probably does not come as any shock to an awful lot of people that there is an issue that the British Government is not willing, at this point in time, to sort out. We have to play our part in looking for a solution. This is an issue across every border. The OECD is looking at putting a deal together but I imagine we could be waiting a hell of a long time before that happens. At a governmental level, there has to be an intervention and an interaction with the British Government. We want to see the likes of the solution the Minister is talking about around teleconferencing and whatever else. A wide solution is needed because we are talking about remote working, which is here to stay. Some people will only work remotely so we have to facilitate that. It is a very small island so we should be able to facilitate it. We have better benefits here at this point but, once again, I think we can put all that responsibility on a British Government in Whitehall that does not particularly care about the people of Ireland, unfortunately.
My predecessor signed agreements with the UK around Brexit. In fairness, we have a good few reciprocal agreements regarding social welfare contributions and pensions, etc. I have to acknowledge that. In this particular case, the UK has indicated it will not sign up for this agreement. Nevertheless, that does not stop us from having conversations. The Deputy is talking specifically about the PayPal workers. Those who are living and working in the North and paid by the UK-based employer PayPal are no longer frontier workers. The relevant tax, social benefits and employment protection arrangements for the UK will apply from the date of changeover of employer registration. The Deputy also mentioned the OECD. It is looking at this teleworking framework agreement and we are looking at it ourselves.
Switching over to the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Deputy knows how much I am promoting remote working. We have spent €150 million on providing remote working hubs right across the country. I have had conversations with counterparts in Northern Ireland to see how we can manage this on an all-island basis. I think that is the way to go. The OECD was here last year and had a conference in Cavan. It held Ireland up as an example of remote working and how we have progressed it. We are probably ahead of a lot of countries and maybe we could be ahead of a few more. I am happy to look at this because I am absolutely committed to remote working and the benefits it can bring to rural areas.
115. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the review of the reasonable accommodation fund; the timeframe for the completion and publication of the review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32743/23]
I am looking for an update on the review of the reasonable accommodation fund and a timeline for the completion and publication of the review.
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. My Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, as well as their employers. I am committed to improving targeted employment supports where disabled people are facing additional challenges accessing work.
The reasonable accommodation fund is one of these supports which aims to support the employment of disabled people by providing financial support to help make workplaces more accessible. Under the comprehensive employment strategy, my Department committed to undertake a review of the reasonable accommodation fund grants. My Department is also reviewing the disability awareness support scheme at the same time given that scheme's similar target audience. The reasonable accommodation fund grants and the disability awareness support scheme are both demand-led schemes that have shown consistently low take-up. The reasonable accommodation fund typically has expenditure of around €100,000 per annum, helping fewer than 100 claimants, while the disability awareness support scheme expenditure is only around €11,000 per annum.
It is important that we review these schemes as it clear that take-up of these grants is very low. I want to see them used more widely and more effectively. The aim of the review is to improve the effectiveness of the supports to employees and employers, identify gaps in provision and improve the application and payment processes. I expect to publish the review of both grants in the coming weeks. In budget 2023, I announced an additional €1 million for improvements to the reasonable accommodation fund scheme, which will be informed by the recommendations in the forthcoming review.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
I thank the Minister for that clarity. I welcome the review because, as the Minister said, the take-up of these schemes is extremely low. That is very upsetting. Ireland's level of employment is very high yet the employment rate for disabled people is one of the lowest in Europe. We rank lowest, with Greece, at 32.6%. Greece's overall employment rate is not anything like Ireland's so that means we are actually the worst in Europe for the employment of disabled people. We have the largest disability employment gap in Europe. The employment rate here for disabled people is 38.6% lower than for people without disabilities. I am just wondering if people are aware of the schemes or if employers are aware of them and how they work. Correct me if I am wrong but I think the take-up of the employee retention grant was zero. We need to look at this and see if there is still a stigma attached to employing people with disabilities and if there is enough awareness among employers of the supports that are there to encourage them to ask disabled people to take up employment with them.
I thank the Deputy for raising this because that is what I want to do. I want to get more people to know about it. I want more employers to take it up and I want more employees to benefit from it. The money is there. We have published a consultation, as I said, on the reasonable accommodation fund. We want more people to use it. There has been a very good response so far. If I need to make some changes to it, I will make them because I genuinely want to see more people with disabilities having the opportunity to go back to work. I want to remove those barriers and help them take up employment. Perhaps it could be part-time and maybe as their confidence grows, they can work longer if it suits them. We have the wage subsidy scheme for employers as well. I launched a consultation on that a week ago and we have already received 700 responses. People are engaged. There are good suggestions coming through and I am happy to take those on board. If the Deputy has any suggestions on how we can improve things, I am happy to hear those as well because we want to help people with disabilities get back into the workplace.
The Minister mentioned disabled people working part time. A lot of people are working part time but they are often in low-paid work as well. One of the things that comes through regularly at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters is people's fear of a loss of income and secondary supports if they take up employment. The secondary supports mentioned in particular are the medical card and the free travel pass. I know they can retain them for a number of years but they need them long term. A lot of disabled people have many medical conditions so they need the medical card and they cannot afford to pay for medical costs even after a number of years of employment.
The cost of disability report commissioned by the Department identified huge costs for disabled people. It found that 38.1% of disabled people in this country are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, which is higher than anywhere else in western Europe.
All of these things need to be taken into account and all of the supports looked at.
The Indecon cost of disability report, among other strategies and commitments, is feeding into the preparation of a straw man reform proposal on disability payments. Work on the straw man is at an advanced stage. All stakeholders and members of the public will be invited to make submissions on some of the straw man proposals. We are looking at a complete overhaul of the disability allowance payment. The Deputy and I will both accept there are people with severe disabilities which prevent them from going to work while others have mild disabilities who may be able to get back and do some work. We will look at how we can distribute those payments more fairly. There is a big difference between somebody with a mild disability on €220 and somebody with a profound disability on €220. I will be publishing the straw man and look forward to hearing suggestions on it. There is a big focus on it all and we will continue to work to improve the situation of people on disability payments.
