2026-01-15

5. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Social Protection his Department’s initiatives to assist persons with disabilities in accessing and sustaining employment, including any specific supports or schemes currently in place, plans for future measures to promote workforce participation, and the timeframe for implementation of these initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2946/26]

What initiatives and plans are in place to support people with disabilities to access and sustain employment? I wish to highlight what works in practice and what is at risk if we do not protect those pathways. This is a social protection issue. In my constituency, Scoil Eoin, a school for children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, has a post-leaving certificate employment rate of 95%. This compares to the national average employment rate of young adults with intellectual disabilities of 30%. What is happening in Scoil Eoin works. Unfortunately, the school's designation is under threat. This means it will not be allowed to focus on children with mild to moderate learning disabilities. I am concerned this change in designation will impact the Department of Social Protection’s pipeline, the people attending its services, the future viability of employment services and the success of disability services.

I thank Deputy Ardagh for the question. I will address the general issue first. My Department is committed to supporting disabled people into employment and offers a range of employment supports to achieve this. My Department's Intreo service is a single point of contact for all employment supports in the State. Disabled people can make an appointment to meet with a designated disability employment personal adviser to discuss employment and training options, including schemes such as community employment, Tús and referral to the employability service. Work and access is a scheme that offers seven supports that address barriers to the workplace for disabled people and make it more accessible. Funding is available for communication supports and workplace adaptations, as well as disability, equality and inclusion training. The wage subsidy scheme supports employers to hire disabled people in meaningful and sustained employment through a subsidy. Budget 2026 has provided for a further expansion in eligibility and an increase in the subsidy rates. In December 2023, my Department established the WorkAbility programme. WorkAbility is co-financed with the EU employment, inclusion, skills and training programme. This programme aims to support 13,000 disabled people progress their training and employment ambitions through 57 local, regional and national projects over its five-year lifetime. Recipients of disability allowance and blind pension can take up employment and may continue to receive their income support. They can currently earn up to €165 per week and keep their payment in full, or earn up to €527.60 and keep a portion of their payment while keeping their secondary benefits. Budget 2026 provided for people who move from disability allowance or blind pension into employment to be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for up to five years. In addition, people with dependent children who move off either of these payments and into employment will now be eligible for the back to work family dividend. The programme for Government commits to expanding successful programmes like WorkAbility and work and access. This commitment is echoed in the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, for which my Department, alongside the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, leads the employment pillar. We will advance those commitments over the lifetime of the Government. I will liaise with the Deputy in relation to Scoil Eoin. The figures cited seem very impressive and I am anxious that this continue. Schools generally do not come under the Department of Social Protection but I will engage with the Deputy on the matter.

While I understand this is an education issue, when dealing with employment for people with disabilities we have to take a whole-of-government approach. I thank the Minister for his detailed and constructive reply and acknowledge the significant work led by his Department. The range of supports he outlined and the work and access, wage subsidy and WorkAbility schemes demonstrate his continued commitment to supporting people with disabilities in employment. I welcome in particular the measures he announced in budget 2026, especially the practical supports which allow people to take up work while retaining key secondary benefits. This kind of flexibility is what helps people sustain employment. I will pivot back to Scoil Eoin because while it is in the education area, it relates to the pipeline of the Department of Social Protection. When these people stay in employment there is less reliance on the Department. A whole-of-government approach is, therefore, needed. I ask that the Minister ask the Minister for education not to redesignate Scoil Eoin as a special school and to keep it as a school for mild to moderate disabilities. Parents and children like choice and this school works as regards people with intellectual disabilities staying in employment.

I will engage with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, in relation to Scoil Eoin and its designation. We want to continue to raise the profile of people with intellectual disabilities in employment throughout 2026. During the course of the year, we will have a specific range of training and work events for employers, offering opportunities for those with disabilities. I say again to all employers that they are missing out on serious talent and skills if they do not recruit people with disabilities. I commend all of the employers who avail of the wage subsidy scheme and encourage and offer opportunities to people with disabilities. We will continue to work with various groups on the wage subsidy scheme, employability services and the WorkAbility scheme, which are on-the-ground responses, working in specific areas with specific responses. I am happy to continue working with these schemes and to continue funding them to enhance their approach. We continue to support the upskilling of staff in the Department on how we treat people with disabilities, in particular, through the just-a-minute, or JAM, initiative being rolled out across the Department.

I commend the Minister on his leadership on this. I also commend the Oireachtas work and learning programme, OWL, developed in partnership with WALK, an organisation based in Walkinstown in my constituency, which does outstanding work supporting people with intellectual disabilities to access meaningful employment. The programme shows how supported employment works in practice when organisations lead by example. As the Minister said, we already see many large employers, including in the retail sector, and small and medium-sized businesses quietly providing inclusive and supportive workplaces. There is real merit, as the Minister said, in acknowledging these employers, large and small, which support people with disabilities and also the benefit they get themselves when they hire people with disabilities. I thank the Minister for his response. I would be grateful if he could raise the issue of Scoil Eoin in Crumlin with the Minister, Deputy Naughton.

I will do that. In relation to the wage subsidy scheme, as of the end of November 2025, we had 1,550 employers and 2,615 employees availing of the scheme. On the work and access scheme, we had paid 221 grants to the end of November 2025. On WorkAbility, we have supported 4,585 people since 2024. I join the Deputy in paying tribute to the Oireachtas, in particular to former Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, who led on the OWL initiative. It shows we can all offer that opportunity and avail of that skill and talent. I think it has been a very successful programme. Under employability, through 2025 to the end of November, we had 3,076 referrals and 9,500 early engagements. For those in the early stages of disability payment there was a meeting with them to point out the available employment supports.