Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
363. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are supports available for businesses who employ people with a disability as part of their staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46354/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports for jobseekers and existing employees with disabilities as well as specific financial incentives for private sector employers to encourage them to recruit and retain jobseekers with disabilities. These supports include the Reasonable Accommodation Fund, the Disability Awareness Support Scheme and the Wage Subsidy Scheme.
The Reasonable Accommodation Fund includes four grants which were designed to assist jobseekers and existing employees with disabilities, and to encourage employers in the private sector to recruit Jobseekers with disabilities:
• Employee Retention Grant is available to assist employers to retain employees who acquire a disability. The grant provides funding to identify accommodation and/or training needs to enable the employee to remain in his/her current position. Funding varies from a maximum of €2,500 or 90% of eligible programme costs to fund an occupational capacity and workplace job assessment or to a maximum of €12,500 or 90% of eligible programme costs for training and job coach support.
• Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant, where a maximum of €6,350 can be given towards the cost of adaptations to premises or equipment. Applications in excess of this sum are considered on an individual basis up to a maximum of €9,523 if specialist training for assistive technology is required.
• Job Interview Interpreter Grant, which provides funding for a sign language interpreter or other interpreter to attend interviews for a jobseeker who is deaf, hard of hearing or has speech impairment. The amount of the grant payable is based on an hourly fee paid which may vary. There is no limit to the number of interviews a person can attend with an interpreter.
• Personal Reader Grant, whereby a person employed in the private sector who is or is becoming blind or visually impaired, and who needs assistance with job-related reading, can apply for a grant to support them to employ a personal reader. The amount payable is based on an hourly fee paid to the reader, in line with the current minimum wage, for an agreed period up to a maximum of 640 hours per year.
The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides funding for private sector employers to arrange and pay for disability awareness training for staff who work with a colleague with a disability. Subject to meeting the conditions that apply, the funding available is:
• the first year that a company applies, 90% of eligible training costs up to a maximum of €20,000.
• the second and subsequent years, 80% of eligible training costs up to a maximum of €20,000 in any one calendar year.
Under Budget 2023, I allocated an additional €1 million to expand these schemes following a comprehensive review of the reasonable Accommodation Fund grants and the Disability Awareness Support Scheme. I published the review in August. My Department is working to implement the report’s recommendations by Q1 2024.
The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a support to encourage private sector employers to employ people with disabilities by means of a subsidy. The subsidy available is between €6.30 and €9.45 per hour depending on the number of employees supported by the scheme. The employment must be between 21 and 39 hours per week and satisfy all relevant employment legislation.
Under Budget 2024, I allocated an additional €3.7 million to expand this scheme in April 2024 by reducing the minimum required hours from 21 hours to 15 hours. My Department is undertaking a review of this scheme at present and I expect to publish the report of the review in the coming months.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
