Disability Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

As the Deputy knows, the wage subsidy scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people through a subsidy. In December 2025, 1,551 employers were availing of the wage subsidy scheme and 2,626 employees were supported through the scheme. Budget 2026 provided for the scheme to be expanded to those who acquire a disability or who have a progressive or degenerative condition that worsens and to those who transfer from invalidity pension to partial capacity benefit.
In 2024, the Department published a review of the wage subsidy scheme. Based on the findings in the review, my Department reduced the minimum required hours for the scheme from 21 hours per week to 15 hours per week. This change sought to make the scheme more accessible and flexible for disabled people. However, it also sought to ensure that the wage subsidy scheme maintains its key aim to encourage employers to provide substantial and meaningful work to disabled people.
The scheme needs to operate within the new 15-hour minimum requirement for a period before we can assess the impact the change has had. As the Deputy knows, there is already a commitment in the programme for Government and the national human rights strategy for disabled people to further reviewing the minimum hours of the wage subsidy scheme. I will advance this commitment but I need time to judge and measure the impact of the new 15-hour minimum requirement. I am very happy to engage with the Deputy and to visit the project in Tipperary to see how it is working.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15