Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 July 2018
345. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the budget allocation for 2017 and 2018 for a programme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29909/18]
View answer346. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of introducing a programme (details supplied) in each county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29910/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 345 and 346 together.
The Providing Equal Employment Routes (PEER) project is run in Co. Louth by the Walkinstown Association for People with an Intellectual Disability (WALK Ltd). The project provides for customised supports for its participants to access employment. The target group is young people with disabilities aged 16 – 24.
The project was originally one of 14 disability activation projects that were jointly funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the exchequer between 2012 and April 2015. After the ending of ESF funding, as provided for in EU regulations, the WALK PEER project obtained additional funding from both a private sector organisation and the HSE.
Research work by the National Disability Authority and others demonstrated that there is a need for supports to be put in place for young people with disabilities during the transition period from education and other services into the world of work. Arising from these findings, the Ability programme was developed.
The ‘Ability’ programme is a new pre-activation programme for young people with disabilities. The projects to be funded under this programme will provide supports and assistance for young people with disabilities aged between15 to 29 years old during this ‘transition’ period. The programme is being co-funded by the Exchequer and the EU (under the European Social Fund, as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020).
Following representations from WALK Ltd it was decided to provide funding on an interim basis from the Department for the project, pending the introduction of the Ability programme. This for example saw funding being put in place to a maximum of some €75k in 2018 over two three month periods, while the Ability programme was being put in place.
Pobal have been contracted by DEASP to manage the Ability programme including the application and evaluation process for the proposals received: the Ability programme attracted 59 applications. A detailed and independent assessment process was undertaken by Pobal of the applications. Pobal awarded scores for all applications based on a weighted marking system, as below:
- Meeting the programme/ measure priorities (40%)Need for the proposal (20%)
- Capacity of the organisation (20%)
- Value for money (20%)
Only projects receiving a score of 60 or above were deemed by Pobal to be of sufficiently high standard to be recommended for funding. On this basis, Pobal recommended 27 projects as being suitable for funding; this represents some 46% of the proposals received.
On the 1st of June this year, the outcomes of the above process were announced. Two applications under the ‘WALK’ umbrella for funding were successful. These were: WALK Ltd and Walkinstown Green Social Enterprise Limited, the latter company is wholly owned by the former. These projects will receive combined funding of more than €1,070,000 over the course of the Ability programme.
If the WALK Ltd funding was to be replicated to an additional 25 counties this would, based on a simplistic calculation, require additional funding in excess of €5m per year, this does not include set up costs or factor in a county by county analysis (an analysis for example of existing service provision by county, demand factors etc.).
At the time of the launch of the ‘Ability’ measure, it was expected that funding for the Ability programme would amount to some €10 million over a three year period. However, given the number and quality of the proposals received, enhanced funding arrangements have been put in place of €16 million to support all 27 projects recommended for funding by Pobal.
It is also important to note that while some of the successful applications came from organisations that are headquartered or based in particular locations, some of the projects will be providing services beyond that county in which they are based, and in some cases providing services across the country.
In addition to the Ability programme, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection continues through its nationwide network of Intreo offices and through the EmployAbility service (a specialist service that has been designed to support people with disabilities – which is delivered on behalf of the department by 23 companies located around the country) to offer a full range of supports and services to people with disabilities who wish to pursue their employment ambitions.
I hope this clarifies the issue for the deputy.
