Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take on board what the Deputy says about the need to advertise the reasonable accommodation fund more. It is available. I put an additional €1 million into it. It means employers can get support for specialised equipment to refurbish offices to make them accessible for people with disabilities. The Deputy is also correct that we also need to ensure people are aware of the disability awareness support scheme. A report on the reasonable accommodation fund is due to be published in quarter 2 of 2023. We have done a review of the fund and we will look at how we can make it better and make people more aware of it.

I take Deputy Ring's point about the number of people with disabilities who are employed. I do not know if we have that figure, but I will try to get it for the Deputy. I am happy to talk to the local authorities. I will send the figures for Carlow to Deputy Murnane O'Connor.

I am happy to engage with people because I do not want people with disabilities to encounter barriers to work. I want to break down those barriers. A number of different approaches are needed. I want to do it.

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