Disability Awareness Support Scheme
- What is the Disability Awareness Support Scheme
- What is disability awareness training?
- How much support is available?
- How to apply
What is the Disability Awareness Support Scheme
If you are an employer in the private sector and you provide or intend to provide disability training for your staff, you can apply for a grant of up to €20,000 as part of the Disability Awareness Support Scheme. The scheme is funded under the Department of Social Protection’s Reasonable Accommodation Fund.
Disability awareness training can help to:
- Improve the way employers and employees support their colleagues with disabilities
- Promote the employability and promotion of people with disabilities
- Create open and welcoming work environments
- Address any misunderstandings about disabilities in the workplace
- Improve customer service for consumers or clients with disabilities
- Support equality in the workplace and eliminate discrimination
Employers are encouraged to offer this training, as set out in the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 and the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015.
What is disability awareness training?
Disability awareness training should help employees develop a better understanding of the key issues regarding disabilities in the workplace. Training should provide specific information on:
- Anti-discrimination and equal opportunities legislation
- Different disabilities and abilities, including mobility issues and sensory issues, such as blindness or deafness
- Appropriate language and behaviour
- How to deal with mental health issues in the workplace
How much support is available?
You can apply for the Disability Awareness Support Scheme more than once and will receive different amounts depending on whether you have applied already.
| First year you apply | 90% of the training costs, max €20,000 per year |
| Second year you apply | 80% of the training costs, max €20,000 per year |
The grant covers:
- Fees for external disability awareness training programmes or courses
- Fees for in-house disability awareness training provided by external trainers
- Fees for open learning, computer or web-based disability awareness training programmes
You can also get up to €650 for learning materials related to the training programme, which includes
- DVDs
- Books
- Manuals
How to apply
Contact your local Intreo centre for information on how to apply for the Disability Awareness Training Scheme.