Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
1088. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration has been given to extending the partial capacity benefit to those in receipt of the wage subsidy scheme; the estimated full year cost of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1166/19]
View answerWhile both the wage subsidy scheme (WSS) and the partial capacity benefit (PCB) schemes seek to improve employment outcomes for persons with disabilities, they operate in different ways and with different qualifying conditions. In particular, the WSS is a support to employers while the PCB is a support provided to individuals.
The partial capacity benefit (PCB) scheme is designed for people who are on illness benefit, for at least six months, or on invalidity pension and who have retained some capacity for work and wish to work. If awarded, PCB will allow them to continue to receive, in addition to their earnings from employment, a percentage of their illness benefit or invalidity pension payment while working. The personal rate of payment of PCB is based on a medical assessment of a person’s restriction, regarding their capacity for work, whether the person was in receipt of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension and their current rate of payment. After the medical assessment, if a person's disability is rated as moderate, severe or profound their previous payment continues at 50, 75 or 100 per cent, respectively.
The wage subsidy scheme (WSS) is an employment support which provides financial incentives to private sector employers to employ people with a disability for between 21 and 39 hours employment per week under a minimum 12 month contract of employment.
The PCB is intended to provide support to a person returning to employment or self-employment and is not intended for those currently in employment which is one of the qualifying conditions of the WSS. Even if this changed, it is not possible to anticipate how individual PCB medical assessments would apply to persons currently employed, where their employer is receiving a subsidy under the WSS. It should, for example, be noted that if the restriction on a person’s capacity for work is medically assessed as mild, they would not qualify for a PCB payment.
For illustrative purposes, if it was to be assumed that all persons, whose employment is being subsidised by way of the WSS, would become eligible for a PCB payment at the current average PCB payment, the cost would be around €20 million a year.
My Department has looked in the past at the cost of extending eligibility for the WSS to employers who employ people in receipt of PCB. This is currently estimated to cost about €3 million in a full year if such employment was at 21 hours per week. This would rise to around €5 million where employment was at the maximum of 39 hours per week.
It is important to note, that the costing here assumes new PCB participants only, as a WSS payment can only be made where an individual is entering a new job or is in that job for less than 12 months. Under current rules, employers would not be able to apply for those currently in receipt of PCB. Furthermore, additional spending might arise if the numbers of employees at individual employer level were high enough to imply additional spending under strands 2 and 3 of the WSS.
The department continually reviews its supports and schemes however it is not intended to change the criteria for the above supports.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
