Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 December 2025
357. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of companies and employees, by band of number of employees and subsidy level, availing of the wage subsidy scheme; the highest number of employees for which a single employer is receiving wage subsidy payments; the mean and median number of employees per employer in receipt of wage subsidy payments, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68693/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra358. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide by sector and location (to local authority level), the highest, lowest, and mean total subsidy receipts; and the total number of employees for which subsidy payments are made, for employers in receipt of the wage subsidy scheme, in tabular form. [68694/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra359. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the name of the 20 employers who employ the highest number of employees, for which they are in receipt of wage subsidy payments, in tabular form. [68695/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 357, 358 and 359 together.
The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support provided by my Department. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people through a subsidy.
As of November 2025, there are over 1,550 employers availing of the Wage Subsidy Scheme and 2,615 employees supported through the scheme.
In 2024, the highest paid employer received €1.4 million under the scheme and the lowest paid employer received €151.20. The mean amount received by all companies in 2024 was €14,698.20. A breakdown by sector or local authority area is not available.
There are several companies with the same number of employees covered by the scheme, so rather than top 20 companies, I can confirm that top 25 employers together employ 540 employees on the scheme. It would not be appropriate for me to provide details of specific payments to individual companies as that information could be commercially sensitive.
The highest number of employees a company is currently receiving the Wage Subsidy Scheme for is 75. The mean number of employees per employer is 1.68 and the median number is one.
The below table shows by band of number of employees and subsidy level, currently availing of the Wage Subsidy Scheme.
|
No. of employees bands |
Current Subsidy Level (rate per hour) |
Number of Employers |
Number of Employees |
Employer % per Strand |
|
1-2 |
€6.30 |
1366 |
1565 |
89.99% |
|
3 - 6 |
€6.93 |
127 |
472 |
8.37% |
|
7 - 11 |
€7.56 |
14 |
123 |
0.92% |
|
12 - 16 |
€8.19 |
3 |
37 |
0.20% |
|
17 - 22 |
€8.82 |
2 |
39 |
0.13% |
|
23 + |
€9.45 |
6 |
341 |
0.40% |
|
Total |
|
1518 |
2577 |
|
|
Percentage: |
|
|
|
100.00% |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
