Disability Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Liam Quaide (SD), Cork East

In this Chamber, we tend to speak almost exclusively about the right of disabled people to access services, yet many other rights make for a full life, not least the right to employment. Ireland continues to have one of the lowest disability employment rates in Europe. The wage subsidy scheme is designed to close the gap, yet what we have heard from Rehab Group, the largest employer of disabled people in the State, is deeply concerning. It has warned the real value of the subsidy has eroded because it has not kept pace with increases in the national minimum wage. It has also raised concerns about the revised band structure. In practical terms, the marginal incentive weakens at higher staffing levels. That risks undermining the very objective of the scheme. If we are serious about participation, dignity and economic independence for disabled people, the wage subsidy scheme must strengthen, not dilute, the incentive for employers who are leading on inclusion. Will the Government revisit the structure and rates of the scheme to ensure a genuinely supports the expansion of disability employment?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03