Holly Cairns
Question:1254. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on removing the 21-hour minimum per week criteria in the wage subsidy scheme to facilitate persons with disabilities working. [40782/22]
View answerTuesday, 26 July 2022
Questions (1254)
Written answers
Through the Comprehensive Employment Strategy, the Government recognises the importance to people with disabilities of full participation in employment. As part of this Strategy, my Department is committed to improving employment outcomes and removing barriers to employment for people with disabilities. The Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) is a targeted incentive to encourage private sector employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities by providing financial incentives to such employers. The estimated expenditure on the scheme in 2022 is over €29 million.
The rationale in relation to the Wage Subsidy Scheme having a requirement of at least 21 hours per week is to increase the likelihood of people with disabilities obtaining and sustaining employment in the open labour market. The WSS is not designed as a subsidy for part-time work offered.
To receive a wage subsidy, the private sector employer must offer employment to a person with a disability to work for at least 21 hours per week and the subsidy is payable for a maximum of 39 hours a week. Employment contracts offered must be for a minimum of 6 months duration and the employee should be subject to and have the same conditions of employment as any of the employer's other employees.
Currently, the basic rate of subsidy paid to the employer is €6.30 per hour, increased from €5.30 as part of Budget 2022, giving a total annual subsidy available of €12,776 based on a 39-hour week.
Department of Social Protection supports have been designed to enable people with a disability to achieve their employment ambitions by focusing on the ability and capacity of the individual. While the Wage Subsidy Scheme is designed to provide substantial full-time jobs in the open labour market, my Department offers a range of other supports to people with disabilities who may not be in a position to work full-time.
The Department manages the State’s Public Employment Service (PES) through its nationwide network of Intreo Centres and contractors delivering services on its behalf (for example, Local Employment Services (LES) and EmployAbility). These employment supports and services have been designed to focus on supporting the individual jobseeker, rather than being focused on their disability, to best assist them to obtain and maintain employment, whether full or part-time.
I can assure the Deputy that my Department’s employment support schemes for people with disabilities, including the Wage Subsidy Scheme, are kept under review to ensure that they meet their policy objectives. A reduction in the hours worked condition for the WSS would not be consistent with the aim of supporting substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities in the open labour market. In addition, the proposal as outlined by the Deputy would effectively mean that any private sector employer could potentially be eligible for the subsidy on the basis of offering minimal hours of employment. Such a proposal would make the scheme unworkable and not sustainable.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.