Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
13. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of organisations in receipt of the workplace equipment adaptation grant in 2023 in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18435/24]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers.These supports include the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and the Disability Awareness Support Scheme.The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial support for people with disabilities and for employers to help make their workplaces more accessible.The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides funding for disability awareness training for employees.Expenditure is recorded by reference to the supplier of the services, rather than the beneficiary of the supports. Therefore, it is not possible to immediately provide information on those organisations who benefited from the Reasonable Accommodation Grant, previously known at the workplace equipment adaption grant. However, on the assumption that many of those organisations will seek the services locally, our records show that 13 payments were made to seven Cork suppliers in 2023 in respect of supports benefitting organisations and their employees. In autumn 2023, I published a review of these schemes. The review recommends combining the two schemes into a single flexible scheme, simplifying systems and processes, providing approval in principle, and promoting the reformed scheme which will make the scheme work better for people with disabilities and their employers. I have allocated an additional €1 million to expand the scheme and implement these recommendations which I anticipate will lead to an increase in the use of these supports.My officials have been working to make recommendations from this review operational. I expect to launch a reformed scheme that will give effect to all nine recommendations of the review in the coming weeks.
