Employment Support Services
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-16
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Noel Grealish (IND), Galway West

We are committed to improving the wage subsidy scheme and supporting organisations employing more than one person under the scheme. The Department of Social Protection offers a range of other employment supports for disabled people and their employers. In July 2024, the Department launched the work and access scheme, which offers seven supports to improve access in the workplace for disabled people. Organisations and employers can apply for support in adapting the workplace, and can avail of disability, equality and inclusion training to gain a better awareness and understanding of disabilities in the workplace. This scheme is available to all non-public sector employers, including charities and voluntary organisations. In December 2023, the Department launched the WorkAbility programme to support people with disabilities into employment through 57 local, regional and national projects. The programme aims to support over 13,000 disabled people over five years. It is important that we work together across government to address the barriers to employment, to improve employment outcome for disabled people and to support employers.
The Government recently launched the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which covers the period from 2025 to 2030. This strategy prioritises a cross-government approach. The Department of Social Protection and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment will lead the employment pillar, with a focus on improving access to the workplace for all disabled people. I am very pleased that in budget 2026, we are able to increase the subsidy rates on the wage subsidy scheme and expand the eligibility for the scheme. I will bring the issues that the Deputy has raised to the attention of the Minister. I will ask him to respond directly to the Deputy.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-10-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:14+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-16