Margaret Murphy O'Mahony
Ceist:56. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the priority actions for persons with disabilities in the Enterprise 2025 renewed strategy. [16815/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 18 April 2018
Ceisteanna (56)
Freagraí scríofa
As an open economy, our openness to trade and investment has contributed to our success over past decades, and will continue to do so. However, we face challenges in the form of Brexit, international tax developments, the unrelenting pace of technological advances and changes being introduced under the current US administration all of which have implications for Ireland’s economy, and will impact on businesses.
It was against this backdrop that Enterprise 2025, published in November 2015, was recently reviewed across Government. The emphasis is now to deepen resilience in our enterprise base, and put supports and policies in place so that our enterprises can adapt to change.
In looking forward, and in line with “Enterprise 2025”, Government will offer supports by investing in our people so that Ireland is internationally renowned for its talent and entrepreneurial culture. We aim to improve participation rates in the labour force through various initiatives targeted at unemployed, youth, females, older people and people with disabilities, all of which will be informed by analysis.
We will take action to improve labour market participation rates by extending labour market activation services to other working age groups, reform rules for disability schemes to encourage take up of part-time employment, and continue to increase access to quality and affordable childcare and to make changes in the marginal tax rate.
Pathways to Work is the main Government initiative encouraging access to the labour market and ultimately participation in employment. It is complemented by the Action Plan for Jobless Households, the National Disability Inclusion Strategy, and the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities.
A commitment under APJ 2018 by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection will ensure that the number of people out of work continues to fall as the economy recovers, that the labour market responds flexibly and efficiently to employment growth, and that the expansion and active promotion of services to currently inactive working age adults with a capacity and a desire to work, continues. This will include lone parents, qualified adults and people with a disability.
Action 25 of APJ 2018 commits to increase awareness amongst jobseekers of the portfolio of services and supports in order to maximise take-up by developing online ready-reckoner tools for people in receipt of disability benefits and lone parent payments to assess the net benefits of returning to work.