Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2016
183. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress in relation to the employment of persons with a disability in the public service; the target and number which have been employed in each of the past three years; the number being employed with a physical disability; the number employed with an intellectual disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8128/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs well as the prohibition on discrimination contained in the Employment Equality Acts (which apply to all employers), Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 obliges public bodies in so far as is practicable to take all reasonable measures to support and promote the employment of people with disabilities. The Government agreed in October 2015 that the existing employment target of 3% in the public service should be increased progressively to 6% over the life time of the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities 2015 - 2024. The number of persons with disabilities employed in the public service is monitored and reported on annually by the National Disability Authority. The Authority's 2014 Report on Compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 on employment of People with Disabilities in the Public Service was laid before the House in January last and contains the information sought by the Deputy except for the year 2015 which is not yet available. For ease of reference, the figures for the years 2011-2014 are repeated below and show a continuing upward trend over the period. Given the wide spectrum of disabilities involved and the self-declaratory nature of disclosure by employees, disaggregated data by category of disability is not available.
Table 1: Progress towards 3% Target, 2007-2014
|
Year |
Total staff |
Recorded no. of staff with disabilities |
% of total staff |
|
2011 |
205,067 |
6,171 |
3.1% |
|
2012 |
197,588 |
6,611 |
3.3% |
|
2013 |
192,575 |
6,464 |
3.4% |
|
2014 |
195,278 |
6,771 |
3.5% |
