My Department places great emphasis on the promotion of the Department as an inclusive workplace, where all staff can flourish including staff with disabilities. The Department was delighted to take part in the Willing Able and Mentoring (WAM) Programme for 2023 / 2024 where two staff members with disabilities took part and have now taken up permanent roles in my Department as a direct consequence of the programme.
Under the provisions of the Disability Act, my Department and three of the bodies under it's aegis (Water Safety Ireland, Western Development Commission and the Charities Regulatory Authority) are required to conduct a confidential staff survey annually to determine how many staff self declare as having a disability. Due to this being a confidential survey, I am unable to determine those who are employed on a part or full time basis. In this context, the tables below detail the information requested. It should be noted that the 2023 returns are still in draft form as they have not yet been published by the NDA.
Pobal, the other agency under the aegis of my Department, is not subject to this requirement under Part 5 of the Disability Act. However Pobal has collected this data as an employer for 2022 and 2023, and that information is also provided.
|
Year
|
Department/ Public Body
|
No of Employees self-declared with a Disability
|
Percentage with a Disability
|
|
2020
|
Water Safety Ireland
|
0
|
0%
|
|
|
Western Development Commission
|
1
|
4%
|
|
|
Charities Regulatory Authority
|
5
|
12.5%
|
|
|
Department of Rural & Community Development
|
13
|
8.13%
|
|
Year
|
Department/ Public Body
|
No of Employees self-declared with a Disability
|
Percentage with a Disability
|
|
2021
|
Water Safety Ireland
|
0
|
0%
|
|
|
Western Development Commission
|
3
|
10.71%
|
|
|
Charities Regulatory Authority
|
1
|
2.44%
|
|
|
Department of Rural & Community Development
|
13
|
7.98%
|
|
Year
|
Department/ Public Body
|
No of Employees self-declared with a Disability
|
Percentage with a Disability
|
|
2022
|
Water Safety Ireland
|
2
|
20%
|
|
|
Western Development Commission
|
1
|
3.6%
|
|
|
Charities Regulatory Authority
|
7
|
15.6%
|
|
|
Department of Rural & Community Development
|
17
|
10%
|
|
Year
|
Department/ Public Body
|
No of Employees with a Disability
|
Percentage with a Disability
|
|
2023
|
Water Safety Ireland
|
2
|
15%
|
|
|
Western Development Commission
|
3
|
11%
|
|
|
Charities Regulatory Authority
|
17
|
40%
|
|
|
Department of Rural & Community Development
|
19
|
10%
|
|
Pobal return/year
|
No of Employees self-declared with a disability
|
Percentage of staff with a Disability
|
|
2022
|
38
|
6.2%
|
|
2023
|
109
|
15%
|
