Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019
1089. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the expenditure on the reasonable accommodation fund in each of the years 2016 to 2018, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1167/19]
View answerThe reasonable accommodation fund assists employers to take appropriate measures to enable a person with a disability/impairment to have obtain or retain employment by providing a range of grants. These grants and supports include the workplace equipment adaptation grant, the personal reader grant, the job interview interpreter grant and the employee retention grant.
The purpose of the scheme is to assist unemployed people with disabilities to gain access to the open labour market by providing grants for “reasonable accommodations” in the private sector and to support private sector employers in the employment of people with disabilities.
The reasonable accommodation fund is a demand-led scheme in that expenditure arises in response to applications received. The actual expenditure on the components is set out in the table below:
Table: Expenditure on the Reasonable Accommodation Fund for People with Disabilities
|
Year |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Workplace equipment and adaptation grant |
€54,041 |
€69,254 |
€100,023 |
|
Personal reader grant |
€16,537 |
€31,619 |
€12,338 |
|
Job interview interpreter grant |
€7,244 |
€5,714 |
€6,361 |
|
Employee retention grant |
€0 |
€0 |
€1,900 |
|
Total |
€77,822 |
€106,587 |
€120,622 |
I hope this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
