What plans has the Minister for Social Protection put in place for ensuring that the social welfare system is progressive and empowers people with a disability to live full and independent lives.
The Minister states:
"My Department already provides a range of income and employment supports to people with disabilities. These include payments such as the disability allowance, the invalidity pension and blind pension. Also included in these supports are the partial capacity benefit, the wage subsidy scheme, the work and access programme, and the EmployAbility service.
People with disabilities are also supported in pursuing further education and training programmes through payments such as the back to education allowance and direct referral to training courses via Intreo and the EmployAbility service. This combination of income support payments and education and employment supports is being developed to help people with disabilities live full and independent lives.
Over successive budgets, payment rates have been increased and supports have been improved for people with disabilities, including:
a €41 increase to disability income support payments since budget 2021;
an increase in the earnings disregard for disability allowance by 38% since budget 2021;
and a suite of once-off lump sum and double payments to assist disabled people with the cost of living.
In recent years, my Department has also reformed grants for reasonable accommodations and introduced an early engagement model for young and newly disabled people interested in work. I will also launch a reform of the wage subsidy scheme in the coming weeks.
We have a lot more to do. We recognise that people with disabilities face higher poverty and lower employment rates than others in society. That is why the programme for Government prioritises investment in services and supports for people with disabilities, including commitments to improve income and employment supports to empower people with disabilities. These will include:
an annual cost of disability support payment;
a reform of the disability allowance payment and means test;
a review of the minimum hours requirement and examination of the payment rate for the wage subsidy scheme;
and an expansion of successful programmes like WorkAbility, EmployAbility and work and access.
That work is being led by a newly created Cabinet committee specifically dedicated to disability issues."
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