Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2021
641. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the regional breakdown by county of requests for supports available under the reasonable accommodation fund 2016-2020; the number of requests that were applied for, granted and refused, respectively under same during the timeframe; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21296/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Reasonable Accommodation Fund Grants are designed to assist and support jobseekers and persons in employment with disabilities and private sector employers seeking to employ or retain a person with a disability.
The grants available are:
a. Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant, which provides funding to make the workplace more accessible.
b. Personal Reader Grant, which provides funding for a personal reader to assist someone who is blind or visually impaired in their work.
c. Job Interview / Interpreter Grant, which is a grant for an interpreter to accompany a person with hearing loss to a job interview or to undertake induction training.
d. Employee Retention Grant Scheme, which aims to help employers retain employees who acquire a disability.
The amount of the overall funding grants provided under the Reasonable Accommodation Fund Grants is demand-led – i.e. the funding / number of grants provided rises in response to the number of applications received.
The tables below provide data on the number of Reasonable Accommodation Fund Grants issued for the years 2016 to 2020, and a breakdown by county of the largest grant (the Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant) issued in the period 2017 to 2019 - 2020. A record of the number of situations where a grant was not issued is not kept in Intreo offices.
It is not possible at the time of writing to provide a breakdown by county of the other grants; however a full breakdown will be forwarded directly to the Deputy in the coming weeks.
A review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund Grants is currently being undertaken by my Department. As part of this exercise officials are undertaking an in-depth analysis of grants issued across the Department's Intreo centres. It is expected that the review will be completed in Q3.
Finally, it is important to note that the funding the Department makes available through the grants it administers, does not impact or lessen the obligation on employers to provide reasonable accommodations. The provision of reasonable accommodations by all employers is a legally enforceable right for both jobseekers and employees. The Employment Equality Acts oblige employers to take reasonable steps to accommodate the needs of both employees and job applicants with disabilities, except where to do so would impose a disproportionate burden on them.
Table1: Number of grants issued 2016 to 2020
|
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
Workplace Equipment Adaptation Grant (WEAG) |
39 |
39 |
44 |
37 |
42 |
|
Personal reader grant (PRG) |
49 |
56 |
34 |
24 |
28 |
|
Job Interview Interpreter Grant (JIIG) |
26 |
28 |
36 |
28 |
21 |
|
Employee Retention Grant (ERG) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
114 |
123 |
115 |
89 |
91 |
Table 2: Number of WEAG issued by County 2017, 2018, 2019
(A breakdown of WEAG by county is not available for 2016)
|
County |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
|
Carlow |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Cavan |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Clare |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
Cork |
6 |
2 |
6 |
|
Donegal |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Dublin |
8 |
18 |
8 |
|
Galway |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Kerry |
1 |
4 |
0 |
|
Kildare |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Kilkenny |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Laois |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Limerick |
1 |
0 |
2 |
|
Longford |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Louth |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Mayo |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Meath |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Monaghan |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Roscommon |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Sligo |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
Tipperary |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Waterford |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Westmeath |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Wexford |
2 |
4 |
3 |
|
Wicklow |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
Total* |
38 |
39 |
31 |
* where there is a slight variance between the numbers in the tables - the county in which the grant was issued may not be immediately clear.
