Departmental Schemes

Wednesday, 16 September 2026

Questions (777)

Liam Quaide

Question:

777. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection the total funding allocated to the work and access scheme for the financial years 2024, 2025 and 2026; the actual amount of funding drawn down or expended to date under the scheme; the total number of applications received for the work and access scheme since its commencement; the number of applications that have been approved, refused, and are currently pending or under review; and the total number of disabled individuals who have actively availed of, or are currently benefiting from, support or workplace accommodations under the work and access scheme. [65565/26]

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Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Work and Access is a suite of supports to help people with a disability get a job or stay in work. The supports aim to remove or reduce barriers in the workplace for people with a disability. The Work and Access scheme is demand led.

The number of applications and expenditure under the Work and Access scheme for years 2024, 2025 and to the end of August 2026 and the current number of pending applications are set out in the table below.

	2024*	2025	2026
Applications	157	415	337
Applications Refused	12	31	12
Expenditure	€16,154	€427,576	€606,318
Applications Pending	-	-	36

* The Work and Access scheme was introduced in the middle of 2024, and as a result it was not fully operational, therefore payments continued to be made under the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme. From July 2024, an additional total of €76,835 was paid between a combination of the Work and Access Scheme and Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme.