Disability Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Michael Murphy (FG), Tipperary South

It was remiss of me not to acknowledge the many employers across the country who participate in the scheme. Indeed, their willingness to provide opportunities has had such a positive impact. I am engaging with service providers, not just the MooreHaven centre, but others within my constituency, and they have indicated to me that the ten-hour threshold would be far more achievable, first of all, for many employers but more importantly, it would better suit the needs of many participants, having regard to their abilities and indeed their limited capacity to work. As I said, for many the 15 hours is simply a bridge too far. This is not due to a lack of willingness but just practical and health-related constraints. Reducing the minimum requirement from 15 hours to ten hours is a sensible and what I would call inclusive adjustment. As the Minister said, it fully aligns with the objectives of the programme for Government, but I accept what the Minister is saying. The 15 hours minimum requirement was only introduced in 2024 but we are now two years on, so I appeal to the Minister to maybe accelerate that consideration.

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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