Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2026
986. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality which public sector bodies have met the 6% employment target for people with disabilities as of 1 January 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12330/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra987. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has conducted audits or inspections to monitor compliance with the disability employment targets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12331/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra988. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality when the results of public sector progress towards the 6% target will be published; the format; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12333/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra989. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the way the 6% public sector target aligns with broader national strategies for the employment of people with disabilities; the plans to extend similar targets to the private sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12336/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 986, 987, 988 and 989 together.
I thank the Deputy for his questions. Government remains committed to increasing the rate of employment of disabled people across the public service.
Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 sets out obligations on public bodies to promote and support the employment of people with disabilities. These obligations previously set a minimum target that 3% of those employed at a given public sector organisation should be disabled people. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, commenced in April of 2023, committed to the doubling of that statutory target on a phased basis - going from 3% to 4.5% in 2024 and to 6% from January 2025 onwards. Part 5 of the Disability Act provides for individual Ministerial accountability for public bodies under their aegis regarding compliance with disability employment targets.
The National Disability Authority (NDA) a body under my aegis, prepares an annual report on compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act each year with the 2025 report to be published in late 2026. Due to the timeline required to collect and process the necessary data the Authority reports annually on activity for the preceding year - i.e. it published its report on the 2024 figures in December 2025.
The most recent NDA Compliance Report covers the figures for 2024. The most common method of data collection reported by 163 public bodies (75.5%) in this period was conducting a staff census.
Overall, the proportion of employees declaring a disability in the public service in 2024 exceeded the minimum 4.5% target. The most recent report records that the percentage of employees reporting a disability in 2024 is 5.4% - this is the first time this percentage has exceeded 5%.
In 2024, 185 public bodies (85.6%) met the 4.5% target compared to 191 (91%) who met the 3% target in 2023. If considering the revised target of 4.5%, in 2024 185 public bodies (85.6%) met this target compared to only 160 (76.2%) in 2023.
In 2024, 134 public bodies (62.6%) met the minimum 6% target compared to 110 (52.4%) in 2023. Overall, the public sector exceeded the minimum statutory employment target for people with disabilities for the fourteenth successive year.
The full list of public bodies and all relevant information is publicly available and can be be found on the NDA’s website at: [NDA Annual Reports on Compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act - National Disability Authority].
I firmly believe that Government must continue lead by example and all government departments and public bodies in Ireland have a clear duty and responsibility to comply with the 6% minimum statutory employment target for disabled people.
The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, launched and published in September 2025, recognises the progressive impact of implementing this target by focusing on ways in which we can increase and expand opportunities for disabled people to work in the Irish civil service and public sector. This commitment fully aligns with several key commitments under a cornerstone pillar of the Strategy - the Employment Pillar - which, taken together, aim to decisively close the disability employment gap by advancing a wide range of actions that will provide the right supports at the right time for disabled people to access work or return to work.
In line with the overarching whole-of-government framework set out in the Strategy, my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, is leading on several actions that will enhance the employment supports available to disabled people and increase rates of labour market activation. The development of effective employer outreach initiatives and measures aimed at supporting employers to hire and progress the careers of disabled people throughout the private sector is also a key commitment of the Strategy and my colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is leading on the delivery of these initiatives.
I am confident that the ongoing work across Government will continue to support employment opportunities for disabled people across both the public and private sectors.
