Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
985. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline the options that her Department supports to assist persons on disability allowance to make useful contributions to the community and to engage in improvement programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37416/23]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection, through its nationwide network of Intreo centres, provides a case managed employment service for jobseekers with disabilities. The person works with an Employment Personal Advisor with a view to agreeing a suitable personal progression plan in order to access the full range of employment supports available.
The Department recognises the additional challenges that some people with disabilities may experience in securing and maintaining employment, and contracts specialist employment services, called EmployAbility, to help address this. A jobseeker with a disability who is working with their Employment Personal Advisor may be referred to these service providers if it is agreed that they would benefit from the type of services and support provided. Under EmployAbility, the person works with a job coach who provides both pre-employment and in-employment support and assistance. Providers also deliver a recruitment and job matching service for employers.
The Community Employment Programme has been in operation since 1994 and is the largest employment support programme of the Department of Social Protection. The scheme helps the long-term unemployed and people with disabilities among others to get back to work.
The aim of the scheme is to enhance the employability and mobility of disadvantaged and unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. The programme is designed to help break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. Participation is intended to be for a temporary fixed-term period.
Currently there are some 805 people participating on CE schemes who came from a disability scheme background.
Tús is a community work placement initiative, established in 2011. It provides short-term quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year or those on Disability Allowance.
Work opportunities are provided in community placement. This has the additional benefit of contributing to the local community through working for these services. Participation on Tús improves the employability and work readiness of participants. Participants can put their work skills into practice and to learn new skills, enabling progression to work, further education or skill development opportunities. Participation will boost the participant’s motivation and confidence. It provides prospective employers with evidence that a participant has the necessary skills and abilities to do the job.
Tús is targeted at people of all ages who are out of work and on jobseekers’ payments for a year or more. Participants are generally employed by not-for-profit voluntary organisations. Eligibility for Tús was extended to persons in receipt of Disability Allowance on a self-referral basis in June 2022.
Currently there are 93 people participating on Tús who were previously on a Disability Allowance payment.
The Rural Social Scheme was launched in May 2004 and is seen as an income support initiative to provide part-time employment opportunities in the community and voluntary organisations for farmers or fishermen in receipt of certain social welfare payments and underemployed in their primary occupation.
Persons are required to be actively farming or fishing and to be in receipt of a qualifying payment including Disability Allowance.
The current number of participants on the Rural Social Scheme who were previously on Disability Allowance, is 34. This equates to 1.2% of the overall Rural Social Scheme participant numbers.
On conclusion of the former Ability Programme a total of 45 projects were funded by the Department of Social Protection through the Dormant Accounts Fund under a measure to Support the Employment of People with Disabilities. The programme was put in place as an interim measure until a new ESF+ programme focusing on the employment of people with disabilities is in place. The measure is managed by Pobal on behalf of the Department of Social Protection. The programme started on 1st September 2021 and is due to conclude at the end of December 2023.
On August 10th, I announced a call for applications for a new employment focused programme for people with disabilities, which aims to support 5,000 people with disabilities into education and employment.
“WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme”, will run from 2024 to 2028 and has an overall budget of up to €36.29million. It is co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and Government of Ireland through the Department of Social Protection and will be administered by Pobal.
The WorkAbility programme will support national, regional and local organisations that have experience of working with people with disabilities and who can provide progressive pathways into education, training and employment (including self-employment) for participants based on their needs, their abilities and their potential. The programme is aimed at supporting people with disabilities aged 16+ into the workforce.
The programme also aims to build the capacity of employers to recruit, retain and progress people with disabilities within their workforce.
The new programme will be complementary to the suite of existing employment supports targeted at people with disabilities provided by the Department of Social Protection and broader national strategies for employment of people with disabilities.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
