Transcript of the CP Connect event in Ireland focussed on employment and benefits.
Nicola Welford (00:00):
Good evening everybody. Thank you for joining Cerebral Palsy Foundation this evening on a beautiful sunny evening in most parts of the country, we hope. I'd like to welcome Niall Lane here from the Department of Social Protection and also Sanjid Mustari from Cerebral Palsy Foundation and then myself. Some of you might know me already. I'm Nicola Welford. I'm the community and communication officer with Cerebral Palsy Foundation here in Ireland. So we're delighted that you could all make it here this evening. We won't keep you too long, but we'll hopefully be able to offer you lots of pieces of information and we're looking forward to plenty of answers at the end. So we will be allowing you a live Q&A where you can chat to Niall directly and he'll try and answer your questions as best as possible. And anything that he can't answer, we'll take a note of everything and we'll come back to you with answers on that as well.
(00:57):
And just to let you know, this webinar is being recorded, so you will be able to watch back at a later stage. We'll share out the link as well. So thank you very much. I'll hand over to Niall now.
Niall Lane (01:10):
That's great. Thank you very much, Nicola. And yeah, good evening everyone. I'm just going to share my screen, so just bear with me for one moment. Okay, so I'm just sharing there. So I don't know if Nicola or Sanjid, I can't see on my screen. Can you just give me a -
Sanjid Mustari (01:37):
You're sharing
(01:38):
Yep. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Yeah, so this evening I'm just going to talk to you a bit about the employee relations service within the Department of Social Protection. So one of the newest schemes that we have is what's called work and access, and I'll be focusing a lot about that, but I'll also be touching on a few of the other schemes and supports that we have in the department as well. Okay. So first of all, well, my name is Niall Lane and I work in employee relations and I'm based in Dublin, and I'm what's called an employee relations officer.
(02:18):
And so in terms of employer relations, we're part of the public employment service, and that basically is the one-stop shop, the single point of contact for employment supports and income supports in Ireland. In terms of employment employee relations, there's about 50 employee relations officers based around the country, and these officers work with employers to help fill vacancies through the provision of supports and services of the department. And then within that, we actually do have six dedicated disability EROs, employee relations officers, and I'm one of those six.
(02:59):
If I were to break down the kind of supports that we have, I typically do this through four categories. So we have recruitment, we have work placements, financial subsidies, and disability supports. So really the focus of this session is really going to be disability supports, but I'm just going to quickly go through the other three as well, just so you have a little bit of knowledge of everything that we offer. Okay, so just in terms of recruitment, one of the things that we do is organize recruitment campaigns and recruitment fairs. So these are organized locally, online, around the country, and they can typically involve face-to-face interviews with employers and job seekers. And just like everything that we do, it's a free service. So that picture there that was taken, where was that? That was in Tallaght Stadium, and so that was a big construction fair.
(03:57):
I think that was back in 2024 maybe. And so yeah, they range in size as well. So that was obviously quite a large one, but they can be quite small, single employer events or they can be large sectoral events as well. So this is another one that was in Cork and you can get a sense of the layout there. So it's a lot of service providers and employers all around the room and it's quite casual. You can just go up, ask what kind of vacancies there are. And there's been many cases where actually people leave with an interview lined up as well, which is always great. In terms of upcoming events, I just thought I'd plug our working skills campaign, which is coming up in October. So it's a few months away yet. And basically it's two weeks of recruitment fairs and information events. And there is a dedicated disability week, which starts on the 19th of October.
(04:52):
And really the best place to get information on these events would be say the social media platforms that we have. So we're on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. I've linked them in there on the slides. And what I'll do is after this session, I'll send them to Nicola and she can share them afterwards.
(05:15):
So something else I just though I'd touch on is Intreo partners. So we do offer a lot of supports and services ourselves. We work with the likes of employability and workability. And these are national services dotted around the country that do work together with the department, but they're more specialized with disabled job seekers. In terms of what the difference is between employability and workability is, it's really one is where people are very much ready to work, ready to go in, and just need a bit of support doing so. And that would be for the likes of employability. Whereas workability is where people may want to maybe want to further upskill themselves.
(06:03):
So Jobs Ireland, this is our recruitment platform. So it's kind of similar to Indeed or kind of Irish jobs, and it's basically where we post job advertisements and where employers do that as well. So much like the other platforms out there, it's available twenty four seven and it just gives an opportunity for job seekers to connect with employers. You can also use it to help develop your CV as well. This one here is EURES, which is the European Recruitment and Employment Service. And really it's basically another platform for jobs, but it's just outside of Ireland. Again, I'm not going to dwell too much on this, it's just for your own information.
(06:53):
Okay, so work placement. So the department has what's called the Workplacement Experience Program, and this is a six-month role where an employer will host a placement participant. There is work experience as well as mentorship and training as well within the role. And just to note, there isn't a waiting period for people who are in receipt of disability allowance. Typically, some will need to be on a payment from the department for six to 12 months, but for people on DA, there's no waiting period. So yeah, it's just a great way for employers anyway to engage new talent and also to build capacity. And really there have been instances where people who are on this program will then go on to work at the employer after the six months. So there is a pipeline there to employment after the program as well.
(08:01):
Okay, so financial subsidies. So the first one here is Jobs Plus. And this is just a payroll subsidy for employers, which is valued at either seven and a half thousand euro to 10,000 euro. And this is basically where an employer hires someone who has been out of work for a period of time. And so that varies. It can be someone who's been out of work for four months or 12 months. And this payment is over 18 months. And yeah, basically it's a subsidy that applies to anyone who's been out of work on any sort of payment.
(08:40):
So there's two subsidies that the department provides. There's Jobs Plus, and then there's another one that is specific to disabled job seekers, and I'll look at that now. Okay. Oh yeah, before I do that, I just thought I would share this new guide. So this is a recently published booklet. So yeah, published this month. And it's just a guide to all the different supports and schemes are relevant to the illness, disability and caring space. So as with the other things, the other slides earlier, there's a link on the slide, and so you can access it later.
(09:25):
And yeah, this is actually another slide that I've added in as well. And this is just something that's come up for me anyway in doing these presentations. It's just questions about how much someone can earn while on disability allowance. So it is possible to earn up to 517 euro and 60 cents per week and still retain a disability allowance payment as well as the secondary benefits from the department. So that kind of amount is broken down there. You can see, so the first 165 euro that someone earns from their job, that is completely disregarded from a means test. And then you can see it tapers off. So then the next about 200 euro, then 50% of that is then disregarded for the means test. And then anything over 375 is fully assessed for the means test. But really this slide is just to show how much can be earned by employment while still keeping a small disability allowance payment as well as the associated benefits.
(10:41):
And then I also added this slide in because obviously the medical card is managed by the HSE, and so they're slightly different in terms of how they administer that. But again, it's a similar situation where there is an earnings disregard for people in receipt of disability allowance. And the disregard for medical card is 427 Euro. So again, these questions have come up before with these presentations, so I just thought it was useful to include here. Okay. So yeah, the wage subsidy scheme. So as I mentioned earlier, there's the Jobs Plus, which is a subsidy scheme for employers. The wage subsidy scheme, again, it's a similar type of subsidy, but it is fully for disabled job seekers. And so with this scheme, an employer who is a non-public sector employer can avail the subsidy and the rate starts at 7.50 per hour. So the minimum number of hours per week is 15, and the payment and the subsidy can be paid out to a maximum of 39 hours per week.
(11:50):
So if someone were to hire a disabled job seeker and then their contract is 15 hours, so for each of those hours, the employer would be subsidized 7.50 an hour. There is additional funding where an employee takes on three or more employees on the scheme. And again, there's a link in the slide.
(12:12):
In terms of additional funding, the subsidy can actually go up. So if an employer has one to six employees on the wage subsidy scheme, it saves 7.50, but above that it could increase to 8.50 and then again to 10 Euro. If an employer has 25 people or more on the wage subsidy scheme, there's then a grant for an employment assistance officer as well. Okay, so this is the grant that I'll be focusing a little bit more on, and that is work and access. And I think it's the newest grant, definitely the newest scheme within employee relations. And it's all about breaking down the barriers in the workplace for disabled employees. So you can see that there is seven different types of grant covered under work and access, and we will be going through each of them a little bit one by one. And you can see that the grant amount varies as well.
(13:11):
And most of them are monetary amounts except for communication support and Irish sign language.
(13:19):
In terms of applying for this grant, it's just worth noting that there's actually two application forms. So there is the WA1 form, and that's where an employee applies. And then there's the WA2 form where an employer applies. So really this just means that the employer or the HR rep or whoever will have to submit for a WA-2, whereas an employee themselves can fill it out. Obviously they can talk with their employer if they want or they can get someone to help them, but it is coming from the employee. And so you can see there's three grants covered on WA1 and then four on WA2.
(14:04):
In terms of who can apply, so employees have to be over 18 and have the right to work in Ireland. And the role can be work experience. It can be an internship lasting longer than six months. And then the employee must have a disability or health condition that impacts their ability to work and is likely to last longer than 12 months. In terms of the job, it must be a minimum of eight hours per week. In terms of the employer, well, the employers have to be a non-public service employer operating in Ireland. And that can include anywhere in the private sector, community and voluntary sectors, not-for-profit organizations, and it can also be people who are self-employed as well.
(14:54):
Okay, so I'm just going to go through each one of them now. Just a little bit more details. The first one I'm going to talk about is the workplace equipment grant. And this is for assistive equipment and talk technology software. And it can also include training. So if there's specialist training needed to use equipment, that can also be covered by the grant. And there is up to 12,000 euro for business premises, and then an additional 12,000 for a person's remote working premises. So really that came off the back of COVID where remote working was increasing. And yeah, it just makes sense to allow for someone to claim 12,000 for both their working premises. So if you were to get a specialized desk, say, in your business premises, it stands to reason that you probably want that for your home office as well. And so this grant can cover that in both locations.
(15:54):
WNA, that stands for workplace needs assessment. So that's another thing that's covered under these grants. And this assessment may be required just depending on how much it costs. So say equipment that costs maybe 10,000 Euro is requested. A deciding officer may think that they might request an assessment just to make sure they understand why this equipment is needed. And as I said, it's applied through the employee form. So that's the WA1. So there are some recent updates to this scheme. And so things like quote threshold and expanded eligibility. And those are really covered in the guidelines that again, are linked within this presentation.
(16:46):
The other one here is communication support and Irish sign language. And this is a grant that allows for exactly that. It allows for an employee to avail of a Irish sign language interpreter or any other type of communication support. This one is also applied for through the employee form, the WA1, and a workplace needs assessment is not required. Just in terms of the updates there, the grant name was changed. It used to just be called the communication support grants. Now it includes Irish sign language. There's no quotes requirements for Irish sign language interpreters. And we also have what's called a booking officer. So that's where that allows for an employer who maybe has a number of people on payroll who require this grant to coordinate through one person and they can submit on behalf of the employees if that suits. So this is the only grant where there's no actual monetary amounts assigned.
(17:47):
So it's actually down to grant hours. So you can see there in the bottom right-hand corner, there's hours allocated depending on the need. So you can see there that there's pre-interview support, interview support covered, and then the likes of induction support and ongoing support as well.
(18:09):
Okay, personal reader. So this is for someone who is blind or partially sighted, and they want to hire personal readers to help them with work-related reading. And there's up to 12 and a half thousand Euro available per year. Workplace needs assessment is not required for this grant, and again, is applied for through the employee form. Alrighty. Okay, so the workplace needs assessment, so I've already touched on it there. And this is essentially where an employee has someone come in and assesses them and the workplace and makes recommendations in that assessment. So this is where they could get, say, a professional such as an occupational therapist, occupational psychologist to come in, look at their workspace, assess their own needs, and then write up a report that includes recommendations, which could include the likes of communication support or equipment or other kind of things that are covered in other grants such as adaptation or in-work support.
(19:17):
So there's up to 2,500 Euro available for these assessments. There are no quote requirements. It used to be applied for through the employee form. It's now just through the employer form. So if anyone had any experience with this grant in the past, just know that it's now applied for purely through the WA-2 employer form.
(19:45):
Okay, so in-work support. So this is where an employee can avail of a work coach or specialist to help them carry out their job or take up a new role as well. And there is up to 12 and a half thousand available per year. A workplace needs assessment is required for this grant. And similar to the workplace needs assessment, there's no quote requirements. I should say that there's only ever a requirement for maximum three quotes for some of these grants. So the likes of say equipment would need quotes. So if it's over, I think if it's over a thousand Euro, I'll double check, but if it's over a thousand euro, you might need an additional quote.
(20:30):
And yeah, so this one, again, used to be applied for through the WA1 form. It's now the WA2 form. Okay, next we've got the workplace adaptation. And so this covers the cost of physical adaptations to a workspace. And it could include adaptations to a building, but also to equipment as well. So maybe there's an already existing desk and an adaptation is needed for this desk. This would be covered under workplace adaptation. And there's 25,000 Euro allocated to this grant. And something to note that this is just for the business premises. So whereas before the likes of say work equipment grant that covered business premises as well as say a person's home if they're working remote. This only covers a business premises, so it wouldn't be used for a person's home.
(21:26):
This grant is applied for through the WA-2 form, the employer form, and a workplace needs assessment is required. Okay, and the last grant here is the disability equality and inclusion training. And this is a grant that allows for employers to run training sessions under three different kind of headings or options. So they could do general disability training for all staff. It could be disability specific training. So it could be a session on unsafe cerebral palsy. It could be about neurodiversity, could be Irish sign language. So it could be disability specific. And then there's also the option of inclusive recruitment and training from managers as well. So for this grant, it's up to 20,000 Euro a year for employers. And this will cover eligible training costs. Workplace needs assessments not required and is applied for through the employer form. So I'm just conscious that this one is very much for employers, but I think it is good for everyone to know what's available, even just for advocacy purposes.
(22:33):
So in terms of this grant, so there was an update as well in May, and this is where it expanded the types of training that could be covered for up to 90% of costs. So this grant is actually the only one in work and access where the full amount is never covered. So for the likes of say equipment, 100% of the equipment costs will be covered. 100% of the workplace needs assessments can be covered up to the maximum of two and a half thousand Euro. This is the only grant where it covers up to 90% but no higher. So if the training's delivered by a qualified trainer or if there's certification involved with the training, so if it's maybe QQY accredited or if it's part of a continuing professional development, it can be covered up to 90%. Otherwise, it's 80% covered.
(23:32):
Yes, so I've included this slide as well. So this is what's called the wide framework. So this was developed by head and employers for change. And it's really focused at employers, but it has what I really like, which is a supplier directory. And so that includes a list of say training providers, but also other providers as well that could be useful for likes of equipment or assessments. Okay. So yeah, there's just a few more links there. Things that I've touched on earlier, so just links to the Irish Public Employment Service. There is a link for Intro for Employers. That's really my area. There's a list of employee relations officers. There's also, I've included a link there to the list of what's called designated disability employment personal advisors. So they would be my counterpart in local Intreo offices, and they would meet one-to-one with disabled job seekers to support them on their job seeking journey.
(24:44):
And then I've also just included the link there to the work and access page. And here are just a couple of different contact details. So if you are interested in work and access specifically, there's the workandaccess@welfare.ie. The employee relations email is there as well. May not necessarily be as relevant here, but I'd include it, and then my own as well. So yeah, I know it's a lot of information there and I'm happy to take questions. And yeah, if something wasn't covered in the slides, I'm also happy to answer questions or at least attempt to. But if I can't answer anything, I can certainly get answers back to you. So in terms of the presentation, that's it. Thanks for listening and I will stop sharing.
Nicola Welford (25:32):
Thank you very much, Niall, for that. Lots of information, as you said, for us to digest, and I've taken a few notes there of my own. I'm not sure if we've any questions coming through yet, Sanjid, for anybody there. You can enter into the chat there, guys, if you want to ask Niall a particular question about something that he's covered or something that he hasn't covered. Anything coming in?
Sanjid Mustari (25:57):
Nothing yet. If you have any questions, you should be able to chat directly with us, to Nicola or myself or Niall. We should all be able to see it.
Nicola Welford (26:07):
Okay, that's great. I have a couple there just while we're waiting for people to maybe think about what question they had. Is it easy or difficult to secure the funding for the different grants that you outlined, either the employer or the employee grants? Is it competitive or is it just once you meet the criteria, you get it? Or what's the best way to describe it?
Niall Lane (26:27):
Yeah, so it's not competitive at all. There's no weighing up which application has more merit or anything like that. It's really just if the criteria are met, then good to go. Just in terms of that process, the application process for work and access, say for example, I would review the applications. So if it's an adaptation grant or the training grant, those would come to me. For the employee-led grants, so that would be the equipment, the personal reader or the comp support, ISL, that would go to my colleagues in inter-offices around the country. And then there's a designated team for the likes of assessments and in work support. But to be honest, you wouldn't need to know that. All you'd need to know is sending it to workandaccess@welfare.au. That's the main email address to correspond with.
Nicola Welford (27:28):
Okay. And what's the turnaround time? Is it efficient or is there, again, a waiting list or certain times when you review applications? Or again, how does that work?
Niall Lane (27:39):
Yeah, so applications, they're reviewed on a rolling basis. So we try to get to them as soon as they come in. My line really is to give yourselves as much time as possible. If it is possible, a month is really healthy. If you're able to say, "Look, I don't need this for a month or so, I'll submit." However, I will say that we can get them processed sooner. I think just the month is really just when you're looking to book things. So say for the likes of a workplace needs assessment, it may take a bit of time to get that organized where you need to liaise with the. Whether it could be the occupational therapist, you might need to book it in advance and then you then want to get the approval. Because the thing is we can't approve something that has already been paid for.
(28:35):
That's another key thing to bear in mind. So if say someone has gotten a workplace needs assessment last year, they can't now submit the invoice for that to get a reimbursement. So it needs to have been approved and then it can proceed, and then the payment documentation can be submitted.
Nicola Welford (28:58):
You find your own OT, I presume that's up to you to get the experts in to organize?
Niall Lane (29:02):
Yes. Yeah, so it is. And so typically we recommend that people would just consult, say, Coru or the AOTI. So they both have their own registers of professionals. So it's not an exhaustive list. So the grant gives options, I suppose. If you were to read the guidelines, you can see it mentions CORU, it mentions the AOTI. I think it mentions Psychologist Irelands as well. That's another register that you can look at and you can avail of. And so that's where we would send people to. But yeah, for any of these grants, the department doesn't provide suppliers, so it's up to the applicant to get the supplier.
Nicola Welford (29:59):
And does the fund Do you go directly to the supplier that's invoiced for the work or does the potential employee handle the money or how is that part processed?
Niall Lane (30:09):
Yeah, so an employee will never have to deal with money. So for the likes of say the WA1 form that I mentioned, which is very much applied for by an employee, and that would be for the likes of communication support, personal reader, equipment, that will all go through the employer or the supplier. For the likes of the WA-2 form, so the employer one for adaptations and work support assessment training, they all go through the employer. So it's a kind of a reimbursement model where the employer will, once they have approval, they will pay for the services, avail of the services, and then they get reimbursed.
Nicola Welford (30:50):
So you need an employer, if the grant potentially is 20,000, you need an employer that has 20,000 to be able to pay that first, then claim afterwards. Is that it?
Niall Lane (31:00):
Yeah, typically.
(31:01):
Yeah, that's how it has been working. So we haven't, just speaking from my own experience, we haven't encountered any issues in terms of say employers being unable to support in that capacity. Again, the grant isn't super old, so this very well could become an issue further down the line, especially as it gets more popular because we've seen now, I think at this moment now we've had more applications in 2026 than we had in the entirety of 2025. So it's gotten a lot more popular, and so maybe further issues and further considerations will come up. But at the moment that hasn't been an issue.
Nicola Welford (31:44):
Okay, that's good to know. I think we've got a question coming in here there, Niall. Where are we now? So my son James is 18 and during the holidays we'll be doing accounts, et cetera, for our company with minimum of two hours per week. Is it possible for him to get equipment like a desk and chair, et cetera?
Niall Lane (32:06):
So the minimum number of hours for work and access will be eight. So I don't know if your someone would be working up to eight maybe, but that's basically one of the stipulations in the grant. So yeah, so it would be eight. But if that is met, then yeah. Well, if it's during the summer, again, maybe it would need to be over six months. So the parameters of the grant are minimum eight hours over a six-month period. It can be work, it can be work experience, it can be internships, it can be apprenticeships. But I suppose, yeah, the parameters are eight hours a week for six months or more. So I think, yeah.
Sanjid Mustari (32:57):
Follow-up question.
Nicola Welford (32:58):
Sorry, Sanjid.
Sanjid Mustari (33:00):
Oh, sorry. It would need to be six consecutive months? They couldn't do summer holidays and then -
Nicola Welford (33:07):
Christmas maybe.
Sanjid Mustari (33:09):
Yeah, Christmas and then any other big breaks in Ireland.
Niall Lane (33:15):
Don't know. That's never come up, but it's a good question. And it's something that I wouldn't be able to answer on this call, but what I can do is I can revert that back to policy and see if they have any insight on that. I suppose just talking about this now, one thing to note is say for the likes of equipment, that is then the property of the employee. So if the employee were to change job, they can take that with them if they want. So that's just something to note about the equipment.
Nicola Welford (33:46):
But the likes of an office desk and chair, that would be approved? They'd fund items like that?
Niall Lane (33:55):
Yeah, if it's a particular type, I suppose. Would an OT have to
Nicola Welford (33:59):
Sign off on it to kind of -
Niall Lane (34:02):
For desk and chair, typically not. So for the likes of say the workplace adaptation grant, every one of those grants needs to be approved by, say, through an assessment and needs to be recommended through a workplace needs assessment. With equipment, nine times out of 10, it doesn't need that. It's really just where say a deciding officer maybe just doesn't quite understand why it's being required. And maybe if it's quite an expensive piece of technology or quite an expensive piece of equipment, just a bit more clarity on why it's needed. It may be very obvious. And if someone, based on their disability or their illness, that they need a very specialized piece of equipment, then yeah, it's very possible that they can just approve it. It's just sometimes if a deciding office needs a little bit more clarity, they may ask for an assessment. But for the likes of desks and things like that, typically no.
Nicola Welford (35:06):
Okay,
Niall Lane (35:07):
Good
Nicola Welford (35:08):
To know. We have another question in there, Niall. Two years ago I had a work placement working 35 hours per week. I wasn't able to keep that going due to fatigue. Would it be possible to work 15 hours a week?
Niall Lane (35:22):
Absolutely. Well, so in terms of availing of the grants that I've talked about, yes. So if you were to work a minimum of 15 hours per week, the employer would be eligible to get the wage subsidy scheme if you're on disability allowance. And then absolutely, yeah, if you're working 15 hours, you're over the minimum eight hours, and so you'd be eligible for the work and access grant as well. So just in that case, you'd be eligible for both the primary disability support grants offered by the department.
Nicola Welford (36:06):
Okay, good. That's good to know. I just have another question there of my own and hopefully
a couple of more might come in. Just with regards to the work coach or the specialist that you can apply to support you with your work, is it up to you to source and hire the person that'll be that person? And do they need to meet a particular criteria as well or
Niall Lane (36:28):
Qualified in a certain area? So just a bit of clarity on that.
Niall Lane (36:33):
Yeah. Yeah. And I would say the in-work support I think is probably one of the lesser utilized grants, and there's probably a couple of reasons why. One of them is that employers, it's very straightforward for them to just get equipment in, but then it's very different to say you're hiring someone and then you're also bringing someone else in as well. So there's just a few pieces to that. And so because of that, we haven't used it, we haven't administered it all that much. So yeah, these are all great questions that we don't necessarily have full answers to. But in going back to your point about who can provide that in work support.
(37:19):
So first of all, like the workplace needs assessment, you can go to the likes of Coru, AOTI if you want and get a registered professional, but it's actually broader and it is down to the needs of the employee. So if you'd look at the guidelines, you can see the guidelines a bit more permissive in terms of who would be able to provide this inwork support more so than the assessor. I know that it's not a clear cut answer. It is just a broader definition. And so I guess this is where organizations maybe such as Cerebral Palsy Foundation can come in as well because there are organizations that have maybe a bit more experience or a bit more knowledge about the needs of their membership. And so that can play a role in availing of that support. So that's definitely a question that's come up before and that has now.
Nicola Welford (38:21):
I think for our community, all the grants you've outlined is what we would all need to avail of. It's great to know that they're there, and especially if some of them are new, because I think a lot of people don't know that they're there and that's the idea of this webinar is that we inform our community about that. It's great to see. I personally feel this is very welcome news, what we're hearing here tonight, but I can see a lot of our members requiring nearly all of those grants and supports that are available. Just to go back to that work coach piece, it's the employer then that hires them, not the employee. It all goes through the
Niall Lane (38:57):
Employer. Yeah. Yeah, it all goes through the employer. That did change recently, and there's a couple of reasons why that changed, but one of the main ones was it was to get rid of the quotes requirements for those grants and to make it easier to apply for. So some of the things like equipment, there's still grants, there's quotes requirements there, but it's maybe a little bit easier because you're dealing with, I don't know, technology or equipment, and so you can compare and contrast. And there is also an option to provide justification in your application if you can't find an additional quote, I suppose. But then for the likes of inwork support and then the assessment, it just was another barrier, really, these quotes. And so the decision was made to get rid of these quotes requirements to make it just that bit more streamlined for people to apply.
(39:48):
But one of the ways in which they did that is basically they tied it to the employer rather than the employee. So that's one of the reasons why it now sits with the employer to apply because these quotes requirements have been gotten rid of. So yeah, just for anyone who has some experience with the grants up to May this year, that's one of the big changes.
Nicola Welford (40:12):
Okay. So I suppose really you need the buy-in from the employer too, because there'll be a bit of paperwork, you want them invested in this and if you're really wanting to employ the individual to benefit financially, but also to be willing to do all of that.
Niall Lane (40:29):
Yeah, that's the thing. The scheme doesn't work unless there's employer buy-in. Absolutely. And I suppose the big piece of work for us is to really make sure it's as clear and straightforward as possible. And I suppose in terms of a lot of our work in employee relations, it's typically you're dealing with employer and job seeker. I think in the disability employment space, there's other considerations. And this is what we've learned and this is what my colleagues have learned is that really we need to take into account the other stakeholders, which are a lot of the service suppliers and a lot of say the representative groups as well like yourself. I think those are really key for really cracking disability employment because obviously it's actually a big priority for the minister. Every time I've seen the minister speak, one of his big priorities is really trying to close that disability employment gap.
(41:29):
And he mentions it basically anytime I see him. So yeah, it's just about making it as easy as possible, but there does need to be buy-in from the employer for sure.
Nicola Welford (41:41):
And it's great to see, because we've called this webinar work and access, and obviously accessibility is the big issue for us when it comes to the environmental access. So it's great to know that if you have an employer that's saying, oh, I'd love to employ you in the morning and sure, of course we'd have you, but sure look, we can't get you in the door or a toilet is inappropriate or whatever.
Nicola Welford (42:01):
But there are grants there now to fund the buildings and the structures to make them environmentally accessible.
Niall Lane (42:07):
Yeah, exactly. Because I suppose there's legislation in place to basically make sure that employers are obligated to be inclusive employers. But you see there is this, I don't want to call it a workaround because it is legitimate challenge for employers is that there is a financial burden to making adaptations to workplaces. And so it can be a challenge, particularly for small and medium enterprises. And so this is again, one of the reasons why this grant is here is to really just removing any kind of barriers or excuses. So yeah, employers absolutely have a responsibility there, and we just want to make sure it's as streamlined and easy for them to be the kind of inclusive employers that they need to be, I suppose.
Nicola Welford (43:00):
And I suppose for our community to know that those options are there so that they can present them to the employers as well, because the employers
Niall Lane (43:07):
Probably
Nicola Welford (43:07):
May not be aware, so that it's up to us to be informed on their behalf as well.
Niall Lane (43:12):
That's it because a lot of the times when I'm talking and on webinars, a lot of times it's to employers. But again, the disability employment space is different and I think everyone just needs to be more aware because the more people that are aware, the easier it is, again, to bridge that gap, I suppose. So I do think it's really important to speak to yourselves and to your membership and just across the board. I think it's not just a case of us talking to employers, we need to talk to everyone who's involved, which is why it's great that this has been organized.
Nicola Welford (43:46):
And the work itself now then, it doesn't really matter what type of work you're engaging in, whether you're in a cafe or in an office or in the Department of Social Protection or wherever, it doesn't matter.
Niall Lane (43:59):
Well, okay. So funny you should say Department of Social Protection.
(44:04):
So the grants are available for basically every employer except those in the public service. And I guess one of the reasons there is because there is a commitment under public service to provide any accommodations as needed. So that is a commitment by public service. And so I guess it's not relevant. Now, whether that is the reality on the ground, well, I don't know. So this is what I've heard from different people. Maybe that isn't actually the case in some workplaces. So when I say public service, I'm talking the civil service, I'm talking say maybe local councils, schools, hospitals. These would all be public service institutions, and so they wouldn't be eligible for this funding. They typically wouldn't be eligible for a lot of government funding because they're already government funding because they're public bodies. And would you be
Nicola Welford (45:03):
Eligible for the work coach?
Niall Lane (45:07):
The work coach.
Nicola Welford (45:08):
We're talking about the fact that you need a work coach to assist you to maybe work somewhere like that.
Niall Lane (45:15):
Well, you see, again, for example, with the Department of Social Protection, we have what's called disability liaison officers, and they would be officers within the organization to support disabled colleagues in their work and to source any accommodations they may need. So I suppose that we do have those internally. Again, I can't speak for that service across the board. I only know from my own employer, but that's basically the rationale for this grant is that there is an obligation for public service institutions to provide these supports anyway. And so that's why -
Nicola Welford (45:55):
The alternative could be to advocate within that public service if the supports aren't in place that they're supposed to be in place. So it might just be an advocacy piece where -
Niall Lane (46:05):
It probably would be an advocacy piece. Yeah. Because again, my colleagues, they're quite knowledgeable. They're very knowledgeable, more knowledgeable than I am about what the needs are and what accommodations can be provided. And so my understanding is that they will get the kind of support that's already being covered under work and access for non-public service employers. But in such a case that for whatever reason, again, I don't know why, because everyone has an obligation to provide these supports. But again, maybe then it will turn to advocacy. But that shouldn't be the case because they are obligated to support their employees.
Nicola Welford (46:46):
And just one other question, Niall, is there an inquiry on these grants? Are they attached to an individual so that once they've claimed it, it's like a once off claim almost? Do you know what I mean? If they move on to another job or to another employer, can they apply again? People move around work all the time.
Niall Lane (47:04):
Yeah. Yeah. So they are attached. If someone applies for a grant in the department, we do make a note of it, but it's definitely possible to apply again. Because again, it's the nature of the grant. If you move employer, you're moving workplace. And so you'll need another workplace needs assessment because your workplace has changed and maybe your job has changed, and so you need different equipment. And then some of the grants, the likes of in-work support, that's renewable every 12 months. So there's no kind of end time on them. And actually, yeah, it's a good point to make about the in-work support being renewable. I know say the likes of our colleagues in employability, they will provide support similar to some of the grants that we provide for up to 12 months, and that's where their support ends. And I suppose it is good to know that there are other supports then available to fill that gap if needed.
(48:12):
So yes, to answer your question, that you can apply again. It's not just one and done. Just so long as the need is there, I guess.
Nicola Welford (48:22):
Okay. That's good to know as well. Because for anybody, you can move on from a job and then you're in a different workplace and then the needs are still the same or not, but it's good to know that apply.
Niall Lane (48:34):
Yeah, no, exactly. So yeah, so you can apply it multiple times. And also, I suppose I should just say that some grants, I gave you the month timeline there, as in just give yourself as much time. It's typically a lot quicker in terms of the application turnaround, and especially for the likes of communication support and ISL, because you may have seen that one of the uses is interview support. So obviously that's very time sensitive. And so applications can be turned around quite quickly depending on the need as well. Just a note as well. So don't be put off by what I said about needing a month. You don't need a month. I'm just saying that because it's to save everyone hassle and just to make sure that everything is run smoothly. Because sometimes you get an application and maybe there's a document missing. And again, just gives you time, I suppose.
(49:28):
So it's really thinking like, "Oh, in a month I'd like to have such and such. I'll make sure I get the application in a month from them."
Nicola Welford (49:36):
And I presume you go back to people if they are missing something that they have a chance to -
Niall Lane (49:40):
Absolutely. Not
Nicola Welford (49:41):
To get refused that they can fix the application or add.
Niall Lane (49:46):
Yeah, it's never a straight refusal. And the grant has a very low refusal rate because typically we just request additional information. It could just be that maybe there's a quote missing or maybe they need the workplace needs assessment submitted, or it could be even just their PPSN isn't there or something like that. It could be something basic. So yeah, we'll always get back to people to give them an update on their application for sure.
Nicola Welford (50:15):
Yeah. But even when you say a month, that sounds good because in our world, that's fast compared to a lot of things that we have to wait for.
Niall Lane (50:23):
Okay. Okay.
Nicola Welford (50:25):
Yeah. So it's good to know that the timelines are something like that as opposed to six months or eight months or whatever.
Niall Lane (50:30):
Oh, absolutely not. No. And not to raise expectations too much, but if I get an application on my desk and maybe it's a light load, I can get that done same day. I can get that done in a day or two. But again, that's not the norm, but that's how it happens. It's a rolling basis at the moment. I should say just with the likes of inwork support and workplace needs assessment, there is just a slight, I say, delay on that timeline. Not the month now, but just there's just a few weeks because there's a new team processing those applications at the moment and they're getting trained in. Again, it's just a streamline to make sure that there's a consistency of approach for those applications because really I think the workplace needs assessment is almost like a gateway. It's a gateway to empowering people in terms of what they need and knowing what they need and having a document say confirming that.
(51:30):
So to me, it's probably the most important grant. And it's just this new team is there to maybe make sure that it's as accessible as possible.
Nicola Welford (51:43):
Okay, that's great. I mean, I don't know if we've any other questions, Sanjid, have we?
Sanjid Mustari (51:49):
No other questions besides those two.
Nicola Welford (51:52):
I know I've probably covered all of them, hopefully, on behalf of everybody.
Sanjid Mustari (51:57):
The chat is open.
Nicola Welford (52:00):
Yeah, it's still open there guys. Is there anything else, Niall, that you'd like to cover or emphasize there before we give them another couple minutes before we wrap up?
Niall Lane (52:10):
I really just think there's a lot of challenges that people maybe have that are very specific to themselves. And so I can talk quite generally about the grants that we have, but also just I'd like people to know that there's a team of employer relations officers like myself, and then there's a team of employment personal advisors as well all across the country. And it's very possible to reach out to your local as well and using the emails that I have. So yeah, Nicola, if it's okay, I'll send you all my slides for you to share. And my contact information is on that. And then the general contact information is, I really think just reaching out, you will get in touch with a human being as well. I know some people think they see a generic email, they're like, "Oh, no one's going to get back to me." But no, there's great teams behind all of those general inboxes, and they'll make sure that your query is sent to the relevant person in your area as well.
(53:09):
And would they just
Nicola Welford (53:10):
Call into the local intreo office or -
Niall Lane (53:12):
Absolutely.
Nicola Welford (53:13):
Yeah.
Niall Lane (53:14):
Absolutely. You can call into your local Intreo office. Again, it is just because every office can be quite different in terms of, I don't know, workload and things like that. The employment personal advisors, they have caseload. And so just if you go in, they may have appointments already booked. So that's just something to highlight. But obviously you can walk in and you can wait, of course, or you can call ahead or you can email.
Nicola Welford (53:43):
Perfect.
Nicola Welford (53:43):
They can email you directly then as well now?
Niall Lane (53:47):
You can email me directly. Again, so I might not necessarily have all the answers, but I can certainly signpost and put people in contact with the right person. So don't be offended if I send someone to another colleague, I guess, just because again, so the main group I would be contacting would be employers, but then a lot of my colleagues are the ones who have caseload for job seekers, I suppose.
Nicola Welford (54:13):
Okay, that's great.
Nicola Welford (54:16):
Think that's been really useful there this evening, Niall, and I know that I have definitely learned a lot. My daughter is still only 11, so we're not on the journey of employment yet, but I'm keeping an eye on those. I'm hoping maybe in another few years' time there's going to be a lot more grants available to people as time progresses because this in itself is a great step forward, I think, from the government. So it's welcome news to see this is happening and I know there's a lot more to be done, but at least it's a start.
Niall Lane (54:46):
That's it. It's a start. There's still so much to be done. And look, as I said, so much information was shared today and some questions might only come up a day from now, but sure look, email them on to me. Or if people feel more comfortable emailing for yourself, Nicola, if you're happy to answer, send them on, but that's fine. Whatever suits anyone. But yeah, absolutely. Keep your questions coming.
Sanjid Mustari (55:10):
Perfect. Thank you so much.
Nicola Welford (55:11):
Thank you. And thanks everyone for joining tonight. Thanks very much, Niall and Sanjid. No problem.
Sanjid Mustari (55:16):
We'll send a follow-up email with all the slides that Niall had and everyone's emails and those helpful links. I saw a lot of hyperlinks. So yes, expect a follow-up with them all.
Nicola Welford (55:29):
Perfect. Thank you. Thanks very much guys. Enjoy your evening.
Sanjid Mustari (55:31):
Take care.
Niall Lane (55:32):
Thanks everyone. Bye. Bye.