Employment Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-17
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Joe Cooney (FG), Clare

I thank the Minister for his update. The maximum rate under the wage subsidy scheme is 50% of the minimum wage. State policy tells employers that disabled people can only work at entry level. We should come at it from the other side and build capacity and value by creating a pathway for those with a disability to progress to the highest levels they can attain which is important for those people. The core issue is that the new wage subsidy scheme is framed in terms of compensating an employer for an employee's perceived lack of ability. That is not empowerment, it is charity. The employment support scheme supports those with a disability to do a job to the fullest and has never been about a defect but about enabling people to contribute on an equal basis with others. The resources it has provided to this woman have allowed her to perform to the highest standard.
This benefits her, her employers, her colleagues and wider society, which is very important for people with disabilities.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:29+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-17