Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
1371. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the policies and supports in place to encourage employers to engage persons with disabilities, particularly persons with Down's, syndrome to work for them; if additional supports are planned to promote same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14965/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThrough the Comprehensive Employment Strategy, the Government recognises the importance for people with disabilities of participation in employment. As part of the strategy, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is committed to improving employment outcomes and removing barriers to employment for persons with a disability.
The Department’s supports for people with disabilities have been designed to enable persons with a disability to achieve their employment ambitions by focusing on the individual person’s ability and capacity rather than taking an approach that focuses on a particular type of disability such as that linked with Down Syndrome.
The Department engages regularly with employers to highlight the benefits of employing people with disabilities and the department promotes workplace supports for people with disabilities and engages with employers on an ongoing basis. For instance, the Employer Information Pack (which is available on the Department’s website at http://www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/employerpack.pdf) contains information on supports available to people with disabilities and employers. The range of supports and services available to employers are regularly highlighted at for example, “road shows” and Job Fairs directed at employers.
The Department provides a range of work related supports for employers who recruit and employ people with disabilities, these include:
- The Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) that has been designed to increase the likelihood of people with disabilities participating in the open labour market by providing financial incentives to private sector employers;
- The Reasonable Accommodation Fund that assists employers to take appropriate measures to enable a person with a disability/impairment to have access to 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.
I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
